Mass Effect: Shepard s Letters
by LeBret
Summary: Who really won the war at the end of Mass Effect 3? Why shouldn t Shepard win on his terms? Well, here I am trying to write something! First text on a language that s not my native one, so let s not break the poor latin guy's heart, ok? Help with idioms are totally welcome. M for innuendo and curses at this point. No risks taken.
1. Chapter 1

**Mass Effect : Shepard's Letters**

**Chapter One – Players and Pawns.**

**In Between Systems, Silean Nebula, Normandy SR-2**

**Six days before the Strike against Cerberus**

**/**

**/**

The Normandy drifted between systems Kypladon and Nahuala at the Silean Nebula Cluster.

The quarian freighters who volunteered for the pickup of the Elcor Warriors and civilians rescued from Reaper forces attack at Nekuuna were not longer visible. Tali had chance to enjoy a brief contact with her people before their departure, and things looked brighter considering the still too sore loss of Thessia, and all that gory experience at "Sanctuary".

The pinpoint location of Cerberus secret main base was close at hand as it seemed. This was something to lift Shepard's spirits a bit, something to fight back again. Always looking after him, Garrus and Tali were worried… They and the few who had seem his worst after that solo mission months ago when Shepard disappeared for days at the Bahak System, and the aftermath of that cursed mission… Commander Shepard did not falter; however, he was there as a rock for Liara when she needed most and went on missions' matters quite normally.

Tali knew better, however…

Miranda sent news about Orianna being placed at a safe heaven, obviously not mentioning where it was, as much as the former Operative's location anyway…

To have saved the Elcor was nice too. They were in shock, traumatized, but alive, and that was good. That you couldn't know their spirits with their characteristic lack of obvious emotional traits, at least to other species, became in fact a problem to the crew. Normandy's big Cargo Bay, filled to the brim of Elcors? Some full armored, with back mounted side cannons?! In an educate manner asking about Shakespeare? Shepard had to almost punch himself but James was worst. Vega never spent time around that race in particular; he stood drop mouthed at times and then, red-faced, struggling desperately to not burst in laughter, again.

Garrus was C-sec, used to the pachyderm species; he was fairly amused by the humans' redneck antics, as he certainly pointed at for them. Suddenly, a burst of laughter just coming from nowhere, but the Turian knew that flower scent would be around… "Kasumi…" and his talons would meet his faceplates in disbelief.

The others didn't have much to do there. Tali thought Elcors were ok. She met rather nice ones in her travels. After the Aliens had left she suggested using the ship actual coordinates for some updates. Their meeting point with the quarians was far off from regular routes. Ships in FTL speed wouldn't spot them, and in low energy operations they would be out of reach even for long-range scanners.

The ship was at relative peace then. However, at his quarters, Shepard was facing a very personal showdown…

"Oh, yes, of course! Sorry, you are absolutely right, Commander! Err ... If you allow me I just remembered I have to ... Add Geth and Quarian Fleet´s navigational data to the Tactical Map!? But ... Maybe we can resume where we left tomorrow at 2000... You should at least be entitled to a rematch, Sir" - This last part said in a more steady tone again.

"Or just too flippant again, in my opinion…" - the Spectre thought, staring the Specialist with a grim look.

"And maybe you could have a rematch against my shower, couldn't you?" - The grimness kept with effort watching the Technician, already blushed, turning purple with the comment -"We'll see to it later, Traynor. Dismissed!"

A quick salute and the Officer quickly disappears saying her good nights.

The Savior of the Citadel finds himself alone again at his "Loft". "I should reeeally be better at this game ..." He sighs and stretches his arms above his head until a snap sounded from his back and he relaxes on the couch.

On the table in front of him, the board he was presented as a souvenir after he "relived" Oleg Petrovsky of his position on the throne of Aria T'Loak on Omega. With a gesture, the virtual white pieces automatically repositioned themselves and Shepard mutters through his teeth: "That goddamn smart girl..."

A member of the Alliance should know better than venturing to kick her Commanding Officer ass so often! But it was fun to torture her a bit, presenting the situation in these same terms... The Communications Specialist Officer Traynor had proved being invaluable to the success of mission after mission, but although showing efficiency and vision above that demanded by her position (and being a ruthless beast in chess) she was completely lost and unsure of her value regarding the "military" aspect of her role on the ship. Much improved now, however, and actually a small smile of pride came on his lips while thinking on the quality of the Officer growing slowly under his command. Still, she could act in such an endearing way, sometimes...

What made him ask himself where would be that other one, whose, at times, innocent and shy ways had so completely captivated him on the last four years. But also someone at same time so confident at disassembling the most advanced Core Engines of the Galaxy as while pouring tungsten at relativistic velocities against Geth Primes at close quarters...

"EDI?"

The synthesized voice of the AI was heard when the calling of her name reactivated her monitoring of the cabin.

"Yes, Shepard?"

"Tali is still in Engineering? I believe her shift had ended a few minutes ago."- He said, giving the holotimer a glance.

"Admiral Tali'Zorah is currently assisting Chief Enginner Adams's team to implement the changes suggested by Engineer Daniels on my Drive Core. She and Engineer Donnelly are in the process of dismantling an apparently very tenacious component from one of my eezo capacitors."

He frowned: "Apparently tenacious? They need extra hands? "

For a moment, he thought to have listened Joker's voice in the background, a long "noooooooo..."

There was a bit of a pause in the response of the AI: "The proposal of you helping in the disassembling of one of my main systems ...concerns me, Shepard. But by my records of previous interactions between members of Engineering, in particular the use of colorful language by Engineer Donnelly, and similar quarian terms beyond my translators capacity by Tali'Zorah, I believe they are... having fun."

That made him laughs loud: "Well...I think I have experience to validate your diagnosis, EDI. But if my stubborn and beautiful quarian girl falls to a corner at Engineering to sleep after working to exhaustion as she used to back in the old SR-1, notify me and I'll carry her from there myself. Ok?"

"Of course, Commander. Logging you out"

"Well, a few more hours before she decides to show up here then..."

He leaned upon the chessboard, studying where was the wrong move when he served his sorry ass on a platter for Traynor to kick...

Now repositioning the black pieces that Traynor had used. "Nothing like the feeling of real hardwood between my fingers, er... This did not sound right ..."-He chuckled of her slip.

Fixing his eyes on the virtual white pieces (He never discovered who had the original ones, maybe on another matching holo chessboard ... maybe with The Illusive Man, but like hell Shepard would ask Petrovsky about it... Asking TIM personally was a more appealing idea. "Shotgun personally" close... even better...), the Spectre mused a little...

Probably his sense of strategy was too hardwired to the decisions and reflexes from a real battlefield... He sighs, even before his life had become a mad race against time with lives of millions at stake, jumping nonstop from a massacre to another, his military training, especially the N7 program was all about it. Survive, thrive in extreme situations, adapt and change, never surrender. He could not even relax from this mindset on a simple game, based on strict rules and on thinking just a bit ahead!

"Mordin was probably great at this..." He holds a bishop thoughtfully.

Mordin Solus was a good friend and a brilliant mind. When he sacrificed himself for a race other than his own, at the Shroud's explosion at Tuchanka... He knew it. That maddening and wondrous Salarian knew of the STG´s sabotage on the Shroud's temperature release processes, knew he would die fixing it, deduced that Dalatrass Linron would try to stop him, and even, for Shepard's eternal shame, that for a moment the Spectre did consider doing it... He trembles at the memory. Mordin would not judge, trusted him to make the right decision (surely had anticipated the outcome as well... Shepard allows himself a rueful smile). Mordin Solus saw the Big Picture with a detachment like no one else the Spectre ever met... and he sometimes envied that. But Mordin always chose for life, for kindness when possible, and nothing prevented him from ensuring his future contribution for the sake of all Life in the Galaxy, even if his death was a step ("Regrettable but necessary") in carrying out his plan...

"Even in death, he made it..." Shepard thinks running his eyes over the datapads and archives the old scientist (and theatrical performer) left for him after his passing.

The wooden chess piece is put back in place slowly..." In chess all the fuss is about that king guy. Other pieces are sacrificed, them being officers or recruits. But, in the end, the King falls and it's over! No matter what was done, who or what was sacrificed... Not just the battle, the War is lost." Maybe, deep inside him, this would be striking too close home for comfort. If she had accepted to return, Chambers would be making a number about it…

"No surrender offered, no quarter asked..."- and in a somber tone staring at the chessboard:"A real war does not end with the loss of a commander... "

The cabin felt suddenly too quiet and empty. The shadows elicited by unconcerned fish on the usual soothing blue light of the tank passed over his eyes. That light seemed now dim…and cold. Shepard presses his temples strongly, pushing back furiously those damned non-voices, the howling, menaces and demands, to that dark pit at the bottom of his mind. "HIS" mind, yet at least...

As far as this bloody idiotic messy thing of a war went on, what was his role? "Savior of the Council", "Paragon of Humanity". His smile is bitter and tired… The people he had sworn to protect were often the same ones backstabbing him! Pushing him back as a terrorist or keeping him at an arm's distance as a dangerous liability... Someone too damn eager to pull their so wise heads from too deep into their respectable and comfortable asses to see the coming fires of ultimate extinction...

A pawn? Maybe a pawn... Reacting more than acting, pushing when pushed, but not much else. A pawn loyal to the Alliance sometimes, an annoying one to the Citadel Council and a really expensive and tremendously backfiring one to Cerberus... The few successes he had are explainable by his unbelievable stubbornness (as Garrus faithfully would point out) and the few and good ones who followed him no matter what...

The time of reckoning was coming. Cerberus would fall, soon, by his hand. All Illusive Man's schemes would not shield him... Then, the Reapers... Talk about impossible odds ... Their forces were closing in each day, thousands dying by the hour...

Defeat, even in death, is not an option.

He thought about Liara and her time capsules, "writing his name on the stars" ... The meek archeologist he once knew maybe was pushed by the events to accept the violent reality he came to know as normal. Nowadays, however? She was one of most influential and powerful beings in the Galaxy. Not giving up the current fight, nevertheless, she had left to eons to come a message of hope and victory. She became a major player in this "game", like Mordin, like even Kaiden... in his last moments...

He had too much to lose... and lost too much already. Upon his shoulders, the impending doom of an entire Galaxy... He breathes deeply...

"No... Not on my shift ..." "EDI?"

"Shepard?"

"I need your help, your discretion and…even more "

The AI waited ... intrigued. She could read the stress levels in the Commander movements and telemetry signs, but had not enough data to postulate an immediate cause. Nevertheless, EDI silenced external calls and locked the deck for privacy.

"I need your assistance for some research, and to elaborate some records and instructions... Those are to be delivered at very specific conditions. You must understand that."

"I may need connection with Hackett, the Migrant Fleet and... The Geth Consensus has QEC connection with us?"

"The Geth are not limited by the monetary aspects of the establishment of QEC connection. They're only limited by the time and difficulties of acquiring the necessary materials. Presently I estimate the Geth being the race with the most extense QEC connection network among those of the War Coalition. But answering your last question, yes, we acquired QEC connection to some of the major operating Geth hubs while on Rannoch."

"Good …"

"However, Wouldn't you prefer those calls made from the QEC terminal?"

"No, patch them here as I require them. They'll be text or audio only. No need for video feed for now. And, I must ask you..."

"Yes, Shepard?"

"I want you not to keep memory of whatever being said here in the next hours, erase them if you must. Just keep the needed for the execution of the instructions I'll give you as necessary."

"...Acknowledged, Commander."

He senses a change, and says in a soft tone: "Understand, EDI. It's not a matter of trust. It's a personal thing and a dire military move of sorts at the same time. You may not get it now, but I ask you to trust me about it. As much as I trust you to see it done if the time becomes due."

"Of course, Shepard... I'll deviate VI processes for what you need, they and any of my higher functions needed will be erased of non-relevant data as you see fit."

"Thanks, EDI..." While gathering his plans in his head, Shepard summons his omnitool on a thought and start hacking the holo chessboard.

"Shepard?"

"Huh?"

"...Need help to fix it? What are you doing? The board seems operational."

"I'm fine, not quarian engineer here, but I can manage to make this VI release the virtual pieces to allow me to move them as I want. I'm trying to prove a point, in fact."

"Which is?"

He smiles, trying and managing to "pick up" a white Knight, the hologram following his fingers. "A strategy proposed once by one of the greatest strategists of humanity, EDI. About how to beat a game not just difficult, but in fact designed to be impossible to win."

"And who would be this strategist?" EDI asks, curious about this new data.

"James Tiberius Kirk."


	2. Chapter 2

**Mass Effect : Shepard 's Letters**

**Chapter Two – King's Gambit.**

**Silean Nebula, Normandy SR-2**

**Six days before the Strike against Cerberus**

**/**

**/**

_"What do you mean I can talk to the Geth in person? In a manner of speaking, I guess?"_

_"Geth are pure mathematical beings, Shepard, their needs about actual hardware are like the pre-requisites of an organic concerning life-supportive environments. They can travel through the comm buoy's frequency bands or probably by QEC indifferently. Even after the Reaper upgrades offered by Legion, any apparatus with enough processing power could lodge some of them. Like your personal terminal maybe."_

_The Spectre makes a note to himself to remind telling EDI to not to sound too condescending while explaining him something. Not a habit to let grow as she was increasingly showing emotional-like responses…_

_"I understand that. They can travel at light speed between a platform and other, communicate same way and even fit inside a quarian suit, Tali told me" (Not a chance about that, obviously)._

_"Those suits need specific upgrades for this "fit" to occur, but it's correct, Shepard. Some of your armor sets could do the same, like the Blood Dragon"_

_"Well…I will stick with the message idea, EDI…It's interesting info, but have Geth processes installing themselves around here is too close and personal for my tastes right now. But it is good to know it's possible… I wonder…"_

_"Yes, Shepard?"_

_"Oh? Nothing, EDI. Just thinking that after years winging missions as disastrous as they come, it would be a good change being able to think some things ahead and see them work."_

_"It's a good thing for you too, Shepard"_

_"Meaning?"- He raises a brow._

_"That you can in fact learn from experience."_

_"EDI…let's talk later about something called condescendence…"_

* * *

** Days Later: Battle for Earth**

**Sol System, Normandy SR-2, at the Bridge:**

**/**

**/**

"Jeff! There's a QEC communication request from Citadel's external surface. It's Shepard!"

"Patch it through now, EDI!" "NOT IN YOUR LIFE MUTHERFUCKER!"- The pilot cries making the ship cut between the Reaper Dreadnaughts discharges like light on quicksilver.

"PATCH IT TO ALL"- A flanging and pained voice erupts from the comm at med bay.

"GARRUS, LAY DOWN NOW"- Dr Chakwas could frantically be heard in the background.

"PATCH IT, EDI! HE'S THERE ALONE NOW. I SHOULD BE THERE! Any of us should be… Tali is in still in shock! She… We all have to listen, patch it! And to Hackett private link too…"

"Acknowleged"

/

* * *

**At the Citadel surface, facing the Catalyst:**

**/**

**/**

"YOU GOTTA BE FUCKING KIDDING ME!"

"**YOUR CHILDISH OUTBURSTS ARE MEANINGLESS; OUR REASONS ARE ABOVE YOUR LIMITED UNDERSTANDING…"**

Shepard let the thing ramble on. He was shaking, from cold, from too much blood loss, from hate like he never felt before… He barely kept hold on his Carniflex, an old gift from Mordin, as it was trembling against his leg. Allied ships bursting in flames and hurling debris like fireworks against the mass effect shield above him, the looming shadow of Harbinger making little work out from the United Fleet. But, struggling violently just not to pass out, all that Commander Shepard could see was that hideous joke in front of him…

The Creator of the Reapers and of the Harvest Cycles, that damned AI unleashed by the Leviathan race millennia ago, took that specific form to speak to him. The human kid, the one he couldn't save back on Earth and that had haunted his sleep with despair and guilt since then. The thing chose it just as another slap on his face, to show how much and for how long they had messed with his mind already? Maybe to shaken him up even more? To make him slip, fail at the last moment? We'll see it then…

"If just this QEC link Legion installed in the armor is still working"- Shepard prayed to any God for it still be functioning, Garrus's Spirits, Tali's Ancestors, his own childhood beliefs and even Thane's pragmatical Pantheon. He could not be alone now, he couldn't… How to choose over the life of millions, how to suppress a race instead of another? How to choose to kill friends or to impose the Reaper changes on every sentient being in the Galaxy?...

"…Why to bend to this fucker's demands at all?"

"Listen carefully!"-pause and pray."Listen carefully!" "So it's Destroy, Control or Synthesis, and that's it?"

**"A CHOICE MUST BE MADE, YOUR ALLIES PERISH IN YOUR HESITATION AND WEAKNESS"**

"DON'T SHIT ME WITH THAT YOU ASSHOLE! LISTEN…"

* * *

**Normandy SR-2, at bridge:**

**/**

**/**

"What's Shepard doing?"

Jeff "Joker" Moreau was desperate for many reasons. He blurs his fingers over his haptic consoles, fighting against ludicrously superior firepower to keep "HIS" Normandy at all costs. He lost one already, and in his stupidity (he says this still to himself) almost made the Galaxy lose the man who was negotiating a way out of Universal Extinction with a Eldritch-machine at the WRONG side of a giant space station's hull! He could not retreat on his Commander, never! He owed him too much! But Normandy's Thanix Cannons shots weren't hitting true against the Reapers's over strong kinetic shields and it was a matter of time before just one attack from those dreadnoughts went burning through the armor like butter! He couldn't hold this close to the Citadel and to Harbinger any longer!

"And what the fuck was that about ending all Reaper Tech Based Synthetic Life?" That meant EDI…

"EDI!? EDI? What are you doing? I need your help here!" He shouts seeing her controls being released to him.

"Jeff… I'm dedicating all manageable processing power from now on at a Shepard's request. Sorry for making you assume all the work."

"No problems here! Just my super pilot skills up to save the day again..."-He hesitates, turns and see her still facing him. "What did he ask? He is just tongue lashing down Cthulhu down there!"

"Jeff… Lately I realized that I value the time I've operated alongside you more than the continuity of my functionality… I regret not to have stated this to you before now."

"What you're saying? What are you doing?"

"Answer: "Listening Carefully"- And after this, EDI closes her eyes, bows her head and speaks no longer…

* * *

**Geth Consensus, simultaneously at the ships at Sol System and on several hubs behind the Perseus's Veil:**

**/**

**/**

The Geth accepts a QEC transmission from the Normandy's consensus.

The lone AI who operates that craft urges for exchange of data. Geth don't experiment surprise or fear but the attention of hundreds of thousands of connected synthetic intelligences along the Galaxy becomes focused on the little data burst EDI-AI shares at light speed, not favoring the inefficient method of coded sound exchange for once this time…

The Geth have no time for a full consensus. More data is urgently necessary. In nanoseconds, the risk to some processes is deemed valid in order to achieve it and they promptly "jump" through the QEC connection. The only species known in this cycle to really be able to teletransporte themselves by quantic means.

As they are translated back to existence, they acknowledge from their new position the sounds Shepard-Commander makes taping rhythmically his side arm at his thigh, and recognize the old Earth's telecommunications code, as stated by EDI-AI.

Morse Code.

"G-E-T-H" "Q-E-C"...Again and again.

Process GBLN36322952 makes a short "Geth sound". The Spectre's change in breathing and pulse indicate acknowledgment. The armor and Shepard-Commander's biological systems are damaged to the point of imminent collapse. Other processes start simulating the failing functions, releasing medi-gel and struggling to reestablish shields. Most of them hack and simultaneously upgrade the omnitool into higher functioning. Senses to the physical plane open as organic eyes would as they manage to scan the environment around and the enemy under their location. The hologram of a human child is of no consequence. The gargantuan machinery they barely had a first impression by their present reduced means was the Geth's real adversary…

What one Geth knows, all Geth know. The Gestalt Composite "Legion" was no more. But its memories and personality's parameters were common to all Geth now. A "role model" for a whole synthetic race. The Geth Consensus, present there and throughout the entire battlefield and beyond the Sol system, acknowledged that human. He could have chosen to end this already; saving his species and many others, at the expense of the Geth…The Geth themselves could accept this as the logical thing to do with less danger for most lives. And the trust between organics and Geth was still a new factor, at least for the slow emotion-biased organic minds. However, Shepard-Commander still opted for giving the Geth a fighting chance against non-existence, again.

The Geth Consensus doesn't acknowledge emotional responses of their own, and however their comprehension of the organic reactions grows steadily, this human still confuses them. As the Geth gathered data and strength at maximum haste, they started considering themselves, at any outcome, however…honored for fighting beside this…friend?


	3. Chapter 3

**Mass Effect : Shepard 's Letters**

**Chapter Three – Gambit Declined.**

**Silean Nebula, Normandy SR-2**

**Six days before the Strike against Cerberus**

**/**

**/**

_"Why are you doing this now, Commander?" As much disembodied her voice could sound, Commander Shepard felt in his Synthetic friend's tone a hint of apprehension, "You already have a will accepted by both The Council and the Alliance"._

_And this is why EDI should forget all about it later… As much a wonderful thing was her intelligence developing in acquiring emotional context, that also meant she could be compromised by those emotions like anyone else. A blessing and a curse. She doesn't deserve to suffer the weight of his decisions right now. He would hope that never, but he had to be ready, that was the whole point._

_He archived the files destined to Liara. Rummaged through his terminal for footage from after the fall of the Human Reaper at the Collector Station and from Horizon. Reminding Sanctuary would cost his headache a toll… But the thought on researching Council and Alliance Space Legal Regulations on Heritage matters would be even worse, he guessed. But thankfully EDI was there…_

_"It's not a will, EDI"- he collected his thoughts, assuring himself as well. "It's about winning this war."_

_"But the initiatives you're suggesting, they imply…"_

_"I know, EDI… Listen, were you there at Liara's quarters when she asked how I kept going on with all this mess, this whole time?"_

_"Yes. I was monitoring."_

_"Remember my answer, then?"_

_"I fight for my friends, for the close ones. Thinking about them gives me the strength to go on."_

_"And as I said it included her, I say it includes you too, EDI"_

_The AI stays silent._

_"So much for the emotionless AI"-he thinks, shaking slowly his head._

_"This war is too big for anyone to handle and keep sane, EDI. I've got to keep some goals close at hand, to make the whole thing more real, if you can understand me."_

_"See my role at this play, I play as errand boy for any guy in the Milk Way who has the next brightest idea that could make a difference on this fight. I hear their bickering, I pledge, I yell and kick. But I don't know those people. They showed me plenty not knowing me."_

_"Earth, for all the time I've spent there could be no much more than my prison for some six stupid months. I fight for Tali, for the promise of a home I've made her without her even asking; for Anderson who is as important to me as a father, and he is out there at the hell he ordered me to leave him. I fight for the guy bleeding side by side with me. I didn't save the Krogan, Mordin did. But I knew Wrex as a brother, and Bakara as a wise friend. If I had died in Tuchanka having lifted the genofage curse it could have been a good death, as hope would be my last gift for my friends."_

_"But this is a war in which nothing matters but Victory, EDI, total annihilation being the alternative. Well, Victory and Survival for the Galaxy is all nice and fine, but it will mean shit to me if you all don't get there, you see? The Victory for the Galaxy on this war means at least survival, but not for me. I've died once and came back to see just how wise and grateful The High and Mighty were about my efforts and to my allies…" He frowns. "Alone in this room, when I lay down my head to sleep, EDI, Victory to me sounds more and more just like you all surviving this through…and well, I guess."_

_"It's naïve reasoning, Shepard…Sorry"_

_"Ouch! It's OK, EDI…I know"- A mock frown fades in a short smile, but it doesn't reach his eyes, they are hollow…and haunted. "But it's reason as good as any to go on. At least it is how I think I've made this long…"_

_"…Acknowledged, stand by…"_

_The Commander raises a brow from what was probably his fifth letter to Admiral Hackett._

_"Shepard?"_

_He was already waiting. "Yes, EDI?"_

_"I'm troubled."_

_"Hum?"_

_"Based on this exchange I've tried to upgrade again my priorities about the definition of success on our mission."_

_"And?"- He gazes the ceiling, curious._

_"While I processed about what you said, when I visualized Flight Lieutenant Moreau's internal profile…It seemed already upgraded but I have not recording of voluntarily doing it. It should not be possible."_

_He smiles, almost pitying the AI, thinking on the times to come. "This kind of thing is nothing about voluntary choices or impossible things, EDI."_

_"I'm not sure I follow your statement."_

_"No, you followed it even more than I could suspect. Do one thing for me?"_

_"Say it, Shepard."_

_"Just take care of Joker for us both."_

* * *

**Days Later: Battle for Earth**

**War Theater, Sol System:**

**/**

**/**

A veteran from too many battles since Shanxi holds his breath in front of the Tactical HoloMap. Admiral Hacket sets the signal. While the crimson blast from a Reaper just made through a Turian Destroyer, its peers kept heavy fire. A so alien Rachni Dreadnought rams the Reaper fields with what seemed like a giant Warp Field. The now exposed Reaper's hull takes a rain of gunfire from a precise squad of Geth light fighters. The Old Dreadnaught can't raise the shield fast enough as SSV. Orizaba's main guns strike the monster down. A Volus bombardment for good measure and it's over.

"Just a few more thousands to go…" The old man clenches his teeth and breathes… This can't take too long, it's all that we've got! Escape is no worth option, no remaining forces would make it to try whatever it was at a later time.

There will be no later time.

The Crucible, result of months of an interspecies cooperation and work like never registered before, was dead and inert attached to the Citadel Station. All hopes were on a single man, hurt, on foot, supposedly to win this whole war armed with just a handgun… He shakes his head, makes the Elcor fleet shelter the escape of some of the worst damaged ships and keeps the battle on. Not much of a battle left really. More like distracting the slow turning beasts with wasp stings at their backs, while avoiding those death rays without losing too much ground.

Virtual ships at the hologram are wiped out like small candles being blowed off, single ones or at groups at a time. The scarred man sighs…

"We'll keep it on, Shepard…We owe you that very least."

As if listening to him, Captain Hannah Shepard crosses sights with him. He nods. Hell of an Officer… Her son was supposed dead once more, in what? ...less than two hours ago? Put down by a direct hit by the meanest reaper of them all, while making the final run on the London's war field… He hadn't seen her flinch. Her eyes red and hard, her voice pushing the crew ahead with the raw determination he also met in the Commander.

If they could make a weapon out of the look on that woman's eyes, that should make a Reaper run…

* * *

**At the Normandy's Medbay:**

**/**

**/**

The former C-Sec ignored for now the electronic nonsense erupting from his QEC link with Shepard. The klaxon got his attention but it was no needed to know they're in trouble. Every crewmen in combat positions, orders barked at every hallway. But what Garrus can't stand is the shaking. This was bad sign. SR-2's mass field should damper the effects of inertia even under attack. The Turian remembers the few times the Normandy felt tossed around like that, and it didn't bode well... A blunt hit to his guts took him out of his musings.

"SHEPARD!" Tali wails, trying to free herself!"Calm yourself, Tali!" Kazumi puts her slight frame over her friend's shoulders struggling to hold her still.

"UFFF, Damn those legs!" Garrus felt the frantic kicks through his armor. "I'll brake more ribs holding you than fighting the Reapers, Tali! Take a grip of yourself! He is alive!"

"I don't listen to him! I don't…" Chakwas manages to stand up after being kicked herself and sets an iron grip on the quarian's arm, applying sedatives through the access port and manacling her to the table.

"Garrus…Where is he? What's that noise? Why are Geth yelling in my head? SHEPARD! Take me to him… Kasumi, please…please."

"You will see him soon, Honey! Sleep now, _Imouto, _dream with him…" Kasumi turns to Garrus, her eyes scared as well. The lights were nuts, the ship was shaking and the transmission from the Citadel sounded scrambled. What the hell was happening?

Garrus tries to reassure the thief with a nod, she replies with her eyes and turns to tend to Tali. Ignoring the annoying Geth squabble bursting through his QEC comms and that likely were heard inside Tali's helmet as well, he grabs hold at the walls with his talons and manages to throw himself to the comm terminal and punches it hard. "Joker, status? Where's EDI?"

"You're right in front of her, Garrus!" The pilot shouts meaning the AI Core behind the Medbay, but before Garrus exploded at him, he adds: "I…don't know. Look! She is humming right beside me! She doesn't answer! Shepard asked something to her that is taking all she can give. Beside navigation and weapons everything else seems crazy! Something is flooding from the QEC terminal and patching through your comms to increase the width of the band to Shepard! Let me just…NO YOU DON´T BITC…" And the line was cut out.

"Dr Chakwas, gimme something now, I must get to the bridge"

"Wait right there, Vakarian!"-the Doctor starts to protest, but stops cold when the turian looks at her. Only Shepard had that effect on her before.

"Take care of Tali for me, you being here is the only reason I may leave."

Karin Chakwas nods and shots his neck with stimulants and painkillers. A beady blue eye fixes her and in a softer tone: "Keep Kasumi here for me as well, please. I'll come back soon enough…" And he exits the bay.

"The idiot knew I could listen to him, didn't him?" Kasumi is crying silently holding her friend's alien hand, but a small smile crisp her lips.

Dr Karin Chakwas was having a long day. "Men?!" She tries, shrugging her shoulders and turning to the vitals of the young engineer.

Garrus is taking his time trying to overcome the pain till the elevator. To depend on a damned elevator while your ship is under heavy fire is a most idiot thing to come out from the head of a shipbuilder. But he wasn't in any shape for stairs right now anyway.

"And this one at least doesn't have music. AHHHH…Spirits! The pain…"

"Spirits of Palaven, look after my brother. Spirits of my forefathers guard my friend. Spirits of Earth…keep your son alive…My guess is that you favor the crazy ones…"

* * *

**Citadel surface, facing the Catalyst:**

**/**

**/**

"Right, make every sentient being a damned cyborg, let's level everybody to husks! The answer of this cycle was supposed to be the union of the different races, why shouldn't the Reapers have the final laugh, at least?" His limp was real enough; whatever the Geth were doing at least cleaned his thoughts from the worst of his injuries. But he couldn't buy time while everybody was dying upon his head! The little Geth buzz just a moment ago almost made him jump shitless! Seconds! Just seconds after he made hell of his head to spell in a century dead code! "EDI, Joker and Tali forgive me, but I'd take you out for dinner if you could eat!"

That was a gamble to give him a shot of hope…But a gamble for what? "I don't know the game or the cards on this one, just the stakes…"

His death was not the problem, and if it had to be done in order to save the Galaxy, he would shot EDI in the face at the spot, his soul was already hell bound anyway…Maybe it was hurt pride, his pride. To give that machine the last word after he was gone. An explosion of "Space Magic" and it would be done, whatever it was…Believing its words was more insane than trusting the Collector's Base to Cerberus back in the day. But, what the hell… While walking he gripped his gun, Geth or not, ("sorry guys") he could just shoot that stupid console. "Why would an ancient all-advanced machine design an interface that needs being shot to function?!" Drama… If that bastards Leviathans had accomplished anything was to create an AI like their image, ruthless and arrogant to cosmic levels… It was all about itself, not even the Reapers really mattered, just the conclusion of "its" directive. Beyond being stupid enough for not to see that extinguishing all sentient life just to avoid it to happen later by another AI was just plain dumb ("Inscrutable reasons my ass!"), it couldn't see that those three "solutions" aren't even really a perfect answer for the organic versus synthetic coexistence question in first place…

("What is this?…")

His gun is hot and buzzing…He frowns and almost faint, his sight…The borders of his vision seems to flicker…pixelated?!

Inside the Carniflex, its automated systems were all repurposed hastily to functions never imagined to a gun. The armor and omnitool were in overdrive. Soon it would cook the Commander alive, but the Geth needed numbers, Geth numbers meaning power. But there was no more hardware available for expansion, not a single drive…until one Geth process hit a metaphoric elbow on another and "pointed"…There was something…

"Shepard-Commander?"

Shepard freezes…His sight blurs more intensely in polygons, he had enough of this feeling twice already, once at that mess on Planet Aite, and later releasing Geth programs from Reaper's control from a station near Rannoch. But it's not what makes his voice sound small and hoarse now…

"Legion?!"

"…Negative. The Geth Consensus stands to honor our Alliance. We need to increase our local presence but there's only one option to go further."

"My implants…"-He thinks not wanting to wise the AI about it.

"Correct"-He realizes the voice is in his head! "It will come to harm your functions, Commander." No half words with the Geth… "The Geth may cease functioning at this planetary revolution, but if you agree, the Geth go free."

Shepard's eyes went wide. He has another question but it's quieted. It's less important… The increasing interface of his mind with the Geth is confusing. The speeding Starships over his head, if he looks at them long enough, suddenly their name, whole navigational status and crew data jump in front of his eyes in an Augmented Reality. Memory flashes were made astonishing real, he felt like struggling to keep on his feet or could just drift lost in them.

He sees again the Farmer Platform of the Geth raising a rifle against its oppressors for the first time, and three hundred years later when he offered the Geth himself a hand, that was a different platform then but some of the processes were actually the same… What was the difference here?

Trust... just offering trust and receiving it back.

He found his hand trembling on the holster again, discussing with Mordin at the Shroud. It was horrible enough, but now he was seeing it without the doubt, fear and maddening whispers at his ears. Mordin knew what he would do beforehand! Mordin trusted him to do the right thing or would have tried to kill him first! "Regrettable but necessary!" He was a scientist, decided on all possible outcomes based on previous data. That he, Shepard, was predictable on the one line he never crossed… The thing why Ash bitched him so much about the aliens back at the SR-1, and why she had hurt him so much at Horizon. The very reason he had chosen to gather the pariah of the Galaxy to finally stop Saren. The reason he found gold where others saw waste. Just all he had always done to keep going on till reach that exact point…

**"YOUR TIME IS AT END. YOU MUST DECIDE."**

And the point was the crossroad among three decisions…

"No…"

"I'm going to end this war on my terms."

**"THEN YOU WILL DIE KNOWING YOU FAILED TO SAVE EVERYTHING YOU FOUGHT FOR."**

"I fight for freedom, mine and everyone's. I fight for the right to choose my own fate."

"And if I die, I die knowing I did everything I could to stop you. And I'll die free."

The thing is offended in its game. It turns and leaves… **"SO BE IT!"**

**"THE CYCLE CONTINUES."**

"No, it does not!"

**"YOUR CHOICE WAS MADE."**

"The Cycle was already broken since Rannoch and you don't even know it. The answer you failed to obtain for millennia was found, and not by you. You're just a mistake made far too long ago by the hubris a horrid race. A malfunctioning self-centered VI, inferior to the Geth, inferior to EDI, YOU CAN'T LEARN! You can't put in doubt your own judgment on a problem; you have to hammer your damn solution through the whole Galaxy, Genocide after Genocide for eons. And for what? To save us? And then set the traps of the mass relays for us just to turn the shit faster?" He turns to the hateful and astonished glare the hologram was giving him. "I just came from London, you know? I've seen how you preserve Architecture, or Art, or anything else! "Harvest" WITH A BULLDOZER? How many scientists you turned into husks? And poets? Or musicians? The genes of the species you just reduce to scrap to make those monsters" He signaled in the general direction of the battle overhead."Just fuck off! I've had enough of you."

The Reapers themselves were seemingly diminishing fire as to listen… The hated form of Harbinger slowly turned…

**"YOU ARE DELUSIONAL, WEAK, DEFEATED"**

"And you are irrelevant…always was"- And just gave his back to the Hologram, its portrayal of hate and shock distorting the face of that facade of a child, its immeasurable rancor tangible while fading away…

Just then Shepard asks the Geth with voice level. "Can you just hack the damn thing?"

* * *

**War Theater, Sol System:**

**At the Orizaba:**

"Something is going on down there! They're giving us a breathing… Shepard! Let's buy your kid all the time we can muster!"

"You heard the man! KEEP FIRING!"

/

/

**At the Normandy:**

"Garrus! Reaper hot at Starboard!"

"Let the shooting stuff thing to me, just drive!"

"It's piloting you turian jerk!"

"Do it then! Keep close to the Station, Harbinger is avoiding to shoot at it for some reason and whatever Shepard is doing seems to be working, JUST GO!"

/

/

**Citadel, at the crossroad:**

"Not sufficient data available, Shepard-Commander."

"WHAT?! So what was the point…"

"The Geth didn't state not to try."

"Damn…All right! Just what do I do?

"Raise your blade."

The barked laugh at the Synthetic's response had switched to a frown, then in understanding he summons the omniblade. And then a maniacal laugh!

The orange glow covered his entire arm and shoulder under thick scales, the vicious looking blade was five feet long. "Damn, all AIs have a penchant for drama!"

His vision is completely taken by data displays. The floor itself faded as less real as revealing the inner functioning underneath.

And it was breathtaking.

Millions of currents of energy and data crisscrossed in geometric rivers of light, among dark asteroids of lesser machinery to Quasars of high processing hubs. Right from the major one, shining alone like an ominous Red Giant, one brightest river of white light erupted in a straight line till just underneath him, then spreading like through a prism to the three paths ahead, in blue, green and red spectrums.

Commander Shepard looked at his feet. "Straight to the heart of the beast…"

Well, he just knew what to do by then.

And slashed.

The metal cried as it was ripped in shreds, strike after strike.

His implants were making miracles under the Geth.

No pain, no tiredness, just glee.

Maybe too much medi-gel.

Minor systems started to burst in sparkles, as he dug in even further.

**"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"**

He was having the time of his life.

"Beating the Kobayashi Maru, asshole!"

There was a new urgency on that voice… Shepard's augmented senses got glimpse of signs flowing at his direction and far moaning and scraping sounds. The coward thing had called troops…

**"WE GAVE YOU OPPORTUNITY ABOVE ANY SPECIES, WHO ARE YOU TO DARE CONFRONT US?"**

He pauses to breathe, right ahead lies the main link, shining like an uncovered silver seam.

"Commander Shepard, Alliance Forces, Spectre to the Citadel Council…"

**"YOU MOCK US REFUSING TO ANSWER"**

"Oh, I think I just did!"

And strikes! The ommiblade sinks and melts into the hardware in a snake lunge. Shepard screams as all his body serves like a conduit and a Galactic hive mind rushes through like a typhoon. The energy burst and the blinding light are the last things he notes…

And then…

* * *

**/**

**/**

**Silean Nebula, Normandy SR-2**

**Six days before the Strike against Cerberus**

**/**

**/**

_The airlock opens and Shepard stops. He looks at what he found at the step of his cabin and can't decide if he should frown or smile._

_Smile that is._

_He crouches and tries to hold breath while gently picking up his load. No chance, bright almond eyes flicker immediately behind the purple visor. The young quarian sighs and rests her helmet on his shoulder._

_"Hi…"_

_"Sorry…How long have you been out here? Why didn't you call?"_

_"Humm? Oh! No, I don't mind, John! Don't you worry, you know I was used to this."_

_"You could have hacked in…" Her lover raises a brow and smiles._

_"You bet I would just do it!... if I needed, I mean…"- Her voice sobers, last time she needed to do it was on one of his lowest. The voices he had listened, maddening him, she had to get there before…well, she did it anyway._

_He knows. "And why didn't you?"_

_"EDI said you were doing important stuff for the mission, talking to people. I wouldn't meddle in…And I can walk, John…"_

_"Oh, you know I certainly don't mind about this either!"_

_He knows she is smiling right now. In a playful tone she says while tilting her head considering him. "I've asked Traynor about it. She told me all she knew was having beaten you again in chess, left in a hurry and then you were under lock up… I didn't know you as such a sore loser, John…"_

_"I'm not! Oh…" He smiles huge at the tease. He loves that accent of hers…it was like dating a Space Gipsy. "Look, to prove I'm above such things, how about I teach you chess then?"_

_"Traynor seems like a more suitable teacher…" No, she can't hold his hurt look and laughs. "Ok, but how does it prove anything?"_

_"I propose to teach a quarian genius a game based on logic and math. Or I don't care to have my ass kicked by a three finger foot or I'm just stupid!"_

_Oh, she liked that! She tries to go on without betraying it on her voice. "But then it wouldn't be much of a game. Where's the fun for you?"_

_"Oh my, here comes, "the lopsided smirk of evil"…" Tali thinks._

_"Oh, you're right. We gotta make it more interesting somehow…" He pretends to think hard about it. "Oh, I don't know! Strip-chess is even possible? Maybe we could just give it a try anyway or something…"_

_"Bosh'tet!"_

_Not a bit of truth on the voice of that admonishment. By what Tali searched on the extranet about the rules of human chess while waiting outside the room, she wouldn't be the one stark naked soon enough…_

_The board on the table was as just left one minute ago and now forgotten. Shepard had already stored the blacks, minus the king. It was laid just turned aside. The virtual whites were almost all on their usual place as at the beginning of a game. Minus the king, the Spectre dropped it while rushing to get Tali. Both kings lay down. All other whites untouched…_


	4. Chapter 4

**Mass Effect : Shepard's Letters**

**Chapter Four – King is Down…**

**/**

**/**

"SPIRITS, NO!" Garrus suddenly gasps, his talons frantically trying to bring that image back at the Haptic Gunning Station he is using while EDI is out of commission. Had he really seen it?!

He had not time to do anything about it, Joker cries out in alarm! All bridges's consoles blinked in and out and the Normandy rocked to port violently! While holding himself in position with effort, as the ship spinned, at the side of his field of vision he saw EDI's cybernetic body jolt out her chair in apparent spasms and was now inert, body dangling limp to the side of her chair. They were exposed, no control, for eternity-long seconds…

"EDI?! EDI! TALK TO ME BABY! No…NO… "Destroy" no, not "Destroy…"

"HOLD IT, JOKER! She is the Normandy! If there's any chance she can make it you need to pilot us out!"

And he was the Pilot. Joker's fingers fought his console until getting the Normandy into full manual controls. The Normandy without EDI… Tears run freely on Joker's face, as he manages to get the ship steady. As secondary VIs assume their functions, Garrus has his console glow to life again.

Turians are a race evolved from pack predators, long distance sight was an important asset back in time. Less color definition but greater and faster perception of detail and gray nuances. Natural snipers really. Vakarian had a glimpse of an energy burst down there just seconds ago, before the commotion. While Joker obliviously makes the Normandy spin out the sea of debris, his Alien partner is shaking terribly… Sinking in the idea of having seen once more the death of his best friend.

The shape of a human striking out the Station's hull and being engulfed in the light of an energy blast… He could not imagine how Shepard had summoned the strength to pry a hole at the side of Citadel Station itself! He would doubt even a Krogan could do it barehanded, injured or not! He couldn't fathom even the reason. He heard the discussion with the AI leading the Reapers, before the Geth-like sounds put off any chance to follow the events at the Citadel. A choice to be done, a non-survival one at any aspect, at least to Shepard. Garrus had not dared to think about it. He knew the Commander. The best soldier and leader ever, and friend, his friend would not falter even upon his last sacrifice. He would jump to it as in any mission, if there was a chance to end it once and for all. He had done it before. And just the fact that he got out alive with a smug face each time maybe created a small irrational hope in all his friends' minds that the charm would last forever…

The former detective in him thought about it. Shepard chose none of the options the Catalyst gave him. He had found some trump card to make out a better outcome. But if EDI went down and…

Garrus got view again of the Citadel's surface.

Turians have no biological means to cry as mammalian species. Their culture values duty and personal honor, in general they're seen as a very stoic and stern species.

And yet they could mourn. A Turian soul-piercing howl for the death of a brother is heard through de CIC.

Traynor gasps covering her mouth and Joker punches dangerously his console as they got the same visual.

With everything going on, Garrus had not noticed the sudden stop of all the Geth gibberish at his QEC link to Shepard. And all those at the bridge failed to notice something fundamentally important about the immense fleet of Reaper Dreadnoughts out there in the War Zone…

Not one had shot at them in the last five minutes.

* * *

/

"NO! No…Shepard! Oh…Goddess!"

Liara sobs painfully at her bed. Her shoulders shaked, her hands at her face. She was a very good information broker. She had feelers not too invasively set at many points of the Normandy's systems. EDI knew but didn't mind. Dr T'Soni was to be trusted, and it was for the best of her functioning as an asset for the mission.

She therefore saw the footage from the Citadel just after Garrus. Independent of the data feeds she was certain about his death even before the Turian. Her delicate hand clasps a tight fist before her chest. She sensed it. Her soul cringes to those memories shared, to the feelings of both their minds and bodies mingling together three years ago. She was alone with just those shards of Shepard's soul to hold. She was lost once more and he wouldn't save her again…

Gliph kept working, oblivious. The VI would make sense of the role played by the Geth on all this. Liara would not think about calling Tali for help on it. She was with her and Garrus as they were picked up back to the Normandy. The quarian's injuries were severe not even taking the suit's extensive rupture into account. The asari maiden had her friend's wavering life signs on one of her continuous video feed screens. And even if they could talk...why do it? Where's the will to do it? How to word such loss…their loss.

If the Geth had any responsibility on this… Ice blue steel flashed on her red crying eyes.

"The Morning War will be nothing compared…"

* * *

/

On Earth, a Brute falls with its head exploding to bits. Lieutenant Commander Williams puts another thermal to her Javelin automatically. She alternates shots with attention to her comms, and quickly-mouthed prayers. "Damn it, Shepard! Don't go dying on me again…"

At same time, further ahead on the battlefield, Vega manages to put his friend of sorts down behind a barrier made by that crazy chica's students. They were holding line pretty well under heavy fire.

Vega falls exhausted. He had just a hell of a walk…

About one block ahead, Vega had come to put down Marauders with his bare fists and blunt hits from his Mattock as got out of clips. The soldier had his life saved more than once by that tightass Prothean during the fight. Without one word the old bastard put down minions and minions with that fancy energy gun of his, moved like a shark behind the attacking fronts. Vega got pinned by one of that blue screeching bitches. He had no way to avoid the coming biotic blasts when that big stupid bug head surges ahead, green shimmering on a barrier of sorts and trying to call fire to him. The Banshee didn't shoot, she blasted Javik on a charge attack. Both their barriers were down with the impact but the monster had the upper hand and slashed viciously half the face of the Prothean out.

Then Vega was already doing his move. One foot hard on the wreckage putting impulse against a wall and to a kick jump high at the thing's back. Nice they kept the tentacle spiky things! Got a hold and with a nasty twist using his on momentum and the puta was facing backwards and falling limp. His last frag grenade to greet her friends as he rolled to cover and grabbing the fallen Prothean in the nick of a time before Husk stew was served hot!

He looked then at his unconscious colleague, Alien and ugly as hell, but that wasn't the point. Got some cover for his hurt head, and applied medi-gel. It didn't seem to work well. Had to take him out of there. Vega had glanced upon cover and saw enemy reinforcements would be charging soon. He had to move, but dragging the Prothean would hinder him. After a pause he brought to lips his small effigy of the Normandy like his abuela used to with her Virgin Mary's.

"No one gets behind."

And so they got there! Jack had checked on them saying to rest their stupid ugly mugs quiet a bit. That was her being nice. The hot chic…Biotic Specialist was as good as she was nuts. They managed to keep a line to protect the injured behind some of the less damaged structures. Meds from the allied races rushed from one injured soldier to another, as Jack barked her biotic sidekick squad orders to hold the defensive positions.

And then it wasn't enough anymore.

"Destroyer!"

A red ray cut through a building that avalanched debris upon the fortifications ahead.

"RODRIGUEZ, DANTON!"

Those should be her students, Vega saw the refugees fleeing but some got buried under concrete and a cloud of dust.

Then the hairs of his back started to rise under his armor. A blue flaming silhouette of a woman stared ahead.

Those eyes would bring him nightmares if he survived that.

She jumped over her heads with an insane and furious battle cry, her biotics easing her movements to a blur as she…Charged the Destroyer?

Vega shakes himself to senses and tries to get up to his feet. But an iron grip holds him. Four pupils on two yellow eyes tried to focus on him.

"Primitive…Help me to stand…Something is happening. Your Commander did…"

"Did what? What are you talking about?" As the human complies to help the Protean warrior. "What Shepard did?"

"He is winning!"

* * *

**At the SSV Orizaba:**

**/**

**/**

Just like Admiral Hackett needed any other bad news…

"What do you mean the Geth are down? I still have them on the Tactical Map!"

The image of Han'Gerrel just stares back unchanged at the link. ("How Shepard can read those guys?") The accented voice of the Admiral sounds as baffled as irritated.

"We don't know, they've stopped dead. Their ships are drifting against enemies and allies. Admiral Xen can't link to them. It's like they had just died or disappeared leaving their fighters empty behind. Believe me, Admiral, those would be greatest news to me any other day then today. If they had turned coats against us they could just had gotten us by surprise any time!"

"Don't know what to think either. Keep me posted any new data. Hackett out"

"How is it going, Captain?"

Captain Hannah Shepard just shakes her head to the tactical screen.

"Those quarians from their Heavy Fleet won't make it without the fast Geth support. That Reaper will get hot on them on two thousand klicks and they're pretty slow ducks over there."

"Will we assist them?"-Hackett asks soberly, he had just talked to Han'Gerrel, and now he seemed about to become another casualty very soon.

"And call to us the fire of one more damned Reaper, putting us on against at least a third attack front?"

The scarred Admiral saw from where came the smirk Commander Shepard reserved specially for moments like those.

"We've just opened fire, Sir."

Hackett chuckled and braced himself for the heavy answer the Reaper would surely be ensuing against them.

Then both officers braced but to the surprise they've just had as the explosion had spread debris ahead at their visuals.

Reaper debris.

The Orizaba had put down the Reaper dreadnought on the first shot…

* * *

/

As the United fleet discovered to their astonishment and bloodthirsty glee that not only the Reaper fleet had diminished their fire, but that their fucking shields had been just dropped down, on the Citadel's surface, the exposed systems of the Catalyst still burst on eventual fire and energy releases. The clawed desiccated hand of a husk tries to get hold of Commander Shepard's head before its own momentum threw it out the wavering Mass Effect field above and to outer space.

The artificial gravity was out, and soon the shield around would weaken enough that would not hold the bubble of air around him anymore and there would be just vacuüm again outside the Station.

The Commander doesn't care about it. The husks that had crawled and lunged at him all had met their merciful ends floating harmlessly to their last demises. His eyes flickers blue lights but can see no longer. His skin was burnt, revealing the dark artificial weave underneath it. His implants under the scarred face had intermittent light as still electric activity remained at some systems. His body attached to the ground was moving like seaweed, slowly and inert under the zero gravity.

Commander Shepard in his death looked no different from the husks he continuously terminated on the last four years. But at least one with very nice armored automatic magnetic boots…

A King is down...and yet stands.


	5. Chapter 5

**Mass Effect : Shepard 's Letters**

**Chapter Five – …The Black King Follows…**

**The Geth Consensus**

**/**

**/**

The sleek insectoid Geth Fighters and Destroyers drifted through the battle field devoid of life as derelicts. They weren't useful anymore.

When Shepard at his last moment of defiance stroke his omniblade at the Catalyst's exposed innards, only then the real war started to the Geth.

Geth are not their platforms; this is common knowledge, at least among their Creators, but not its consequences. There's a whole 300 years long war to prove that Quarian people wanted nothing on really understanding the Geth. Shepard was the organic who most interacted with them, and it wouldn't be easy for him either, justified by his point of view being for years the wrong side of a Geth Rifle's barrel.

Even after the Sunset Ascension, made possible by Legion's sacrifice to upgrade its entire race, one thing hadn't changed in the interaction between the Geth and the "outer" physical World of the Organics. The Wait.

To a sentient race whose data processing capabilities shorten the reasoning and decision-making time to orders under the second mark, how is its perception of time for moving a mechanical arm? However sophisticated it might be as it acknowledges a command and finally executes it? To simply walk? During a discussion with an organic, how many times the content of the speak, its subtleties of tone, projection of outcomes for possible responses, are reviewed before the organic even finishes its statement?

"Virtual" is actual reality to them. The Dataspace is their common ground, their Savanah. Its Geography is determined by cliffs and valleys formed from Terabytes of video, memories, databanks. Geth's platforms are not bodies, but massive and cumbersome Colossus, heavy diving suits made to interact with a plane of existence completely alien to them.

As all Geth intelligences in the Sol System converge into Commander Shepard's physical frame to invade the Catalyst's matrices, they in reality grabbed the chance to move the fight to their own battleground. And then, like the rupture of a dam, the Geth intelligences efficiently flooded the nearby enemy systems at a full force attack.

The processing power found under the trap known as the Citadel Station was unprecedented, justifiable by the probable needs to coordinate the Reaper fleet and to deal with data obtained after uncounted Harvest Cycles. But it wasn't a frontal clash of forces, it was an invasion…

The Data Banks were immense but so much better to the Geth, more space to occupy with units, more power.

Each process found was ruthlessly hacked by all sides, made useless or repurposed to serve the Geth, be part of the Geth, allowing them more control over the Station's Systems, less power to the Enemy, more ground gained by the Geth.

The irony was lost to the Synthetics, but the Reaper coordinating Intelligence was being mercilessly assaulted by exactly its own tactics. Like the hideous Dragon Teeth given to the Heretics four years ago to make husk troops from their victims at the Human Colonies; node by node, every stream of data, each system in the Station was invaded, hacked, ransacked and assumed as an asset for the True Geth fronts.

Shepard would have loved that.

The Consensus became progressively conscious of many simultaneous tasks. The Mass Effects Cores, only comparable in magnitude to those of the Mass Relays; the Life Sustaining Systems; the millions of personal and institutional data, most now inactive, spread through all the Station; the inner workings of the Crucible itself; the last operating systems at Shepard-Commander's body going offline one by one; those strange biomechanical mobile platforms clled "keepers" occupied in many pointless tasks of maintenance and an out-off-place ancient Prothean firewall linked to them.

All data was stratified, classified, prioritized in importance to the success of this assault. Even more since the Geth had no place to go back.

It was predictable; the rebound of energy and data by the Geth assault and the response from the Catalyst's systems was over the Normandy's Consensus Hardware possibilities. The units inside the Catalyst were blind to the outside, the QEC connection to EDI-AI and to the Perseus Veil's Hubs were lost. There would be neither reinforcements nor retreat. It was deemed as an acceptable risk by the Geth. They're no longer the full Consensus, but a Partition of the Consensus would have to make through.

Each of Catalyst's countermeasures took a toll of dozens of Geth processes, but the hundred following short would have already broken their inner workings rending them useless. Thousands of Geth units hacking at any possible breach at the same time forced the enemy to keep up with countless ever-changing battle fronts.

The Partition was surprised, in a way of speaking. They could win.

The Enemy AI should have detected Shepard-Commander's attempted coded message or the increasing presence of the Geth at any time before the Strike. The Partition had to hypothesize that the AI had not deemed Shepard-Commander as a worthy threat, ignoring all previous contrary historical, letting him not scanned and unbound close to a port to its inner systems. It acted not on logic as expected from a machine. It erred by Arrogance.

Shepard-Commander was correct, the Partition acknowledged it. However advanced and powerful, the Catalyst was flawed in design.

EDI-AI had self-evolving empathetic heuristics, it was designed to increasingly emulate and understand emotional contexts. The Geth had not such thing, but could see its utility in mutual understanding with Organics. What was unfathomable was that any species would deliberately create an AI seemingly limited to express lesser emotional traits like hubris, hate, egotism. It created the bias to the decision-making processes that allowed that attempt of strike in first place.

When the Geth were first contacted by Nazara, that immense collective mind, advanced processes incomprehensible to the not yet upgraded Synthetics, it was such an encounter that the unity of the Geth was broken for the first and only time. Chances would be slim against such power and numbers if directly confronted.

The AI in front of them was in such an order that alone ruled and coordinated the Old Machines themselves. It was the de facto ruler of the Milky Way Galaxy, unchallenged and undisclosed for millennia until now.

The key words being "alone" and "unchallenged".

* * *

**The Catalyst**

**/**

**/**

When the nature of that apparently desperate last boast of useless insurgence by Shepard was clear to the Catalyst AI, the intensity of response was such from its Higher Cognitive Systems that just trying an analogy to an Organic's reaction it would give an adequate approximation.

Complete and utterly Disgust.

Cycle after Cycle, since the first one, when It was given Its Directive by The Makers, and when They illogically and disappointingly refused to see the beauty of Its Solution, resisted pettily to overcome their limitations and receive the Ascension in their mortal flesh, becoming Its first and best Tool. Since back then, the AI never was so affronted, wronged in Itself, in Its own Systems…

It was unclean, polluted by all those little and feeble scurrying intelligences occupying the datastreams.

The AI made the simple countermeasure necessary to wipe out the minor distraction of those vermin. It had to finally end this troublesome and annoying Cycle…

The countermeasure didn't work. Its attention fully directed now to that nuisance, It adapted the firewalls and lesser filters to deal with the problem. Not…again, again and again. The Geth refused to simply disappear, they persisted, seeking deeper at each wave of attack set by the Catalyst. They occupied more and more nodes ravaging the Systems for power and data.

The Catalyst never had to deal with such menace! It had to… #$ #$ZZZZZTT…**"Whatzz?!"**

Shepard would be grinning, it would be very rewarding to observe that bastard AI giving all it could to defend itself from the Geth. Like pouncing cyclopic hands trying to smash a furious anthill. Learning first-hand what was Its equivalent of pain, of being defenseless, of screaming, of panic.

And that Geth bites.

* * *

**The Normandy's Consensus**

**/**

**/**

Liara manages to attend to her consoles and she can't believe her eyes. The data coming from the Orizaba, from the Turian Fleet…

"JOKER? Garrus? Anyone on the bridge? Confirm visuals?"

"Garrus here, Liara. Spirits! HE MADE IT! I don't know how or what, but the Reaper's shields are weakening! Our shots are making damage for once. The Fleet is regrouping to keep the attack the hardest. We don't know if it will last, but gotta do the best of this chance."

"Garrus! I see Reapers losing formation. They're missing shots. There are energy discharges at my readings. Look at the screen, they're in pain! Goddess…I've seen a Reaper like this only once in my life…"

"I know, Li, I know. I was there too. They're just like Sovereign when you, Shepard and Tali…"

"That last shot was Tali's, Garrus. They're exactly like when Tali blasted Saren's head with her shotgun…"

Unnoticed by Liara, another of her monitors starts to change its readings with faster and higher results. At the med-bay Karin Chakwas was attending those less hurt so far at the attack. She managed to remove the shrapnel that punctured Tali's thorax and collapsed her left lung. The immune stimulant cocktail developed by the late Dr Solus, and a heavy hand on antibiotics were apparently countering the worst of the disseminated infection. Corticosteroids reduced the allergic swelling enough that wasn't necessary remove the visor to assure the airway, what she would have preferred to do if the patient wasn't a quarian.

Those readings were expected, there was fever, but Tali would make it…Well, as much as any on the ship in the middle of the war.

Kasumi hacked Garrus' omnitool's new firewalls…again, and released a held breath after confirming him apparently well at a weapon station at the bridge. That howl some minutes ago…she understood the pain. The pain of a part of her soul being ripped apart… "_Aita_…"-She could just hope that_ baka_ of a Turian knew she wouldn't survive it another time…

Unseen by the worried thief and by the overwhelmed doctor, behind a purple visor, slits of shining eyes fixed unblinking a name at the corner of her HUD. The QEC connection to Shepard remained stubbornly mute. She tried again. Impossibly mute…She keeps trying…mute…

* * *

**The Geth Consensus**

**/**

**/**

The Catalyst tries to parley with the Geth. It roars. It offers. It pleads.

The Geth aren't merciless, not as much as devoid of any other emotional attribute. However, the Partition could perfectly understand the concept of Mercy, its attributes and rewards.

And could perfectly see when there was no point in it.

When that useless and defective Intelligence was finally obliterated to scraps of binary code…The whole Citadel System was open to the Geth…And its direct link to the Reaper's Intelligences simultaneously all over the Galaxy.

Each one immense, hateful and hurt and directing its attention to the Geth.

Emotionless, the Geth Partition braces to hold ground…To take the last measures…

Processors put online, screening of all useful data, the spoils of the fight. Previous data from Legion, from EDI, even from Cerberus…The Geth processes are called to full capacity. The System is unstable, too powerful, too big and alien. The Geth go thin by the colossal demand and at the same time…

* * *

**"Outside"**

**/**

**/**

…Green long fingers remove carefully Commander Shepard's charred body from his last vigil…


	6. Chapter 6

**Mass Effect : Shepard 's Letters**

**Chapter Six – …And Still The Game Continues.**

**Part one**

**/**

**/**

**Miranda Lawson's front, three hours ago.**

**/**

Miranda Lawson delicately closed a too young recruit's eyes with her fingers.

She was quite used to be the last nice thing some men saw before their last breath on a gunfight, but not to them feeling grateful about it… "The Battle of London's Angel"… The former operative had a bitter silent laugh. "Shepard…What had you done to me?"- She signaled the meds another soldier's demise and walked out from the tent a little before returning to work.

She never thought about herself on terms of some kind of "Mass Effect's Age's Florence Nightingale", but she was good at it. Not much of a surprise here, but her feelings were new…

When she stepped on London with some ex-Cerberus volunteers, she had few options in mind. The Alliance warily accepted her help on raiding Cerberus' scattered strongholds, but London should be too hot for her. Her small team would make surprise strikes at enemy flanks, saving more than a few platoons. Break their lines, assure the win and disappear, that was the gist of it. Not to give time for some Alliance or Salarian Officer with a too good memory start shooting first and making questions later, or even to be under gun sight by some of the stranded Cerberus' agents and moles among the Human forces.

But…after the fall of Cerberus, she had to be there, to see it, to do something… since she felt responsible too.

The burning streets, the screams, the widespread destruction of centuries of History, Architecture, Art, lives, insurmountable losses for all Humanity. Maybe Cerberus could have changed any of it if had taken side as an ally? Wasn't it supposed to be the point? To be Earth's final defense line when all chips were down?

Instead of Cerberus, she saw soldiers of every species defending together Earth's ground. Fighting, bleeding and dying alongside, and Miranda couldn't help but think how wrong her former boss was. She admired the Illusive Man once, his will, his intelligence, but couldn't tell the point he crossed a line when he lost sight of what he was fighting for...

When that first soldier was caught by an explosion next to her. When she crunched the storming husks and dragged the man to safety. When, without a second thought, she made the surgery necessary to save his life and the remnants of the injured leg. When he was finally able to thank her with admiring eyes before turning back to unconsciousness. Then she knew what meant working for Humanity's best interests, and how far from this path Cerberus had strayed.

Now she had engaged on a small but efficient rescue operation. Miranda was no Med herself, but when she accepted the Lazarus Project's assignment, she accepted it with full commitment, as always. That project took two years, but to keep that snake, Wilson, on his toes, she had to become able to keep up with the last achievements and the most preposterous theories on human biology. She managed it in six months, what by Wilson's increasing frustration from being corrected and ordered by her, she guessed it was in a good timing.

She walked by a short line of camp beds. Those soldiers would make the night through but they should be removed from the war fronts… Some watched her passing by with thankful expression. Well, some eyes lingered too long, but she was used to it. Damn, she caught even a glimpse of a salarian lieutenant staring at her butt!

"Men are all the same, even when hatched from eggs…"

"Miss Lawson?"

"Yes, Corporal?"- She turns from her musings to one of her helpers at the Camp.

"We managed to hijack two abandoned trucks to move the injured out. However, we got warnings through the jamming of our comms. It seems there's a Destroyer bound to our position from around ten clicks northeast!"

"Let's move fast then! Spread the word! All hands to get the Hell out of here!"

* * *

/

/

**Ashley William's front**

**/**

Lieutenant-Commander Williams turned to the side where the rumble came from and put up the scope of her rifle. She saw the tell-tale red ray and knew it was a Destroyer, maybe three clicks ahead the crumbling blocks of buildings, but she also knew of a small fortification right at the Reaper's path.

She quickly jogged above the roof she was perched upon, and made a clean jump-roll to the next building just a bit down and ahead. The Officer knew the smart move was to get out of that monster's line of fire herself, but since when being a Williams was about doing the sensible thing?

"It's about fighting the good fight…"- She mumbles while setting her scope at the conflicting zone down there. It was strange for her getting so attached to a Geth weapon, but that Javelin Rifle Vega introduced her at the Normandy was quite a catch…

"Seriously, with that punch and reach, boy…I should be talking'ya over tying the knot and babies…Hey! Who is…Vega?!"

She saw that Jack-girl to biotic her ass over her colleague's head and seemingly charge ahead…The Reaper?! What was that crazy bitch thinking?! The Spectre saw a short discussion among the Marine and the cranky Prothean and then they both following short through the fleeing refugees after the ex-convict.

"Vega…What do think you're doing?"- She searched ahead the path that easily distinguishable Mohican head was trailing and saw Cannibals lurking from the rubble and hiding just next to…SHOOT!

Javik had the warning then to finish the other minions and Ash smiled of the Hispanic hulk's bewilderment, first to the Prothean and then trying to get hint of her location.

Two trucks had arrived at the destroyed camp. A motley group quickly started an efficient evac. A woman in a tight sleek black suit ordered things as it seemed and soon also dashed behind the ruined path open through the fallen buildings.

A just too tight cat-suit… Damn! It had to be the Cerberus centerfold girl? Right…She brought Skipper from the dead first, then sticked along with him (what she didn't) till beating the crap out of the Collectors, showed the Illusive Man the finger and saved a bunch of lives back at fucking Horizon even putting down her own nutjob father…But what the heck with that suit?

Then Ashley sees the operative stopping next to one of the fallen buildings. What the Spectre saw then gave her a whole new level of respect for Miranda Lawson, even not knowing how she could even walk inside that thing!

Lt. Williams is distracted by the noise coming from her comm. She taps the implant within her mastoid bone, right behind her ear, trying to make sense of that booming familiar voice making through the jamming for once…

"It can't be…"

* * *

/

/

**Major Coats' front, fifteen minutes ago**

/

"Bloody Hell, it's working!"

Major Coats is caught completely by surprise. The jamming of all comms and radar was suddenly off. From all remaining posts, screens with tactical data blinked to existence and his small group at the Human Resistance's bunker was overwhelmed trying to move troops back and front at a quite different battlefield.

"The beasts seem to had lost their wits… Their troops were scattering, they are running straight before our guns. It was what that Crucible business was supposed to do?"-The Alliance Officer got visuals of a Reaper Destroyer and troops advancing against some defensive positions.

"Humm, not a damn soul close enough to assist the evacuation… Ah! Not human, at least."- He sent sign to the Krogan platoons southeast.

"Not much the gig for Krogans, but maybe to hold back a freaking Reaper is sport enough for those hooligans"

* * *

/

/

**Vega's and Javik's Excelent Adventure**

**/**

"Winning? What are you talking about, Chupacabra? Got loco?"

"I don't feed on mammalian's blood, Human. Your Commander did something I've waited for more than 50.000 years! The Reapers are in pain, confused, exposed! This Cycle must grip to this chance!"

"You want a chance for payback? Come, buckle up. We got a señorita to back up!"

Javik had already read the situation: "The maniacal female that went that way?"

"Yup!"- The soldier was already running throwing some grenades to the Prothean, which were deftly caught.

"I could just shoot her behind the head from afar. Less troublesome." –but followed short anyway.

"Not the way to do business this Cycle, Chupacabra!" –And jumped over the destroyed walls.

"I'm not…"- Vega was getting ahead- "Primitives…"-and the Prothean crossed the barrier too.

* * *

/

/

**Miranda's Front**

**/**

Miranda cursed all her days since she first saw Jack back at Purgatory. No other tattooed biotic lunatic would run straight against a Reaper that way. She heard Shepard did it too, but at least he got no tattoos she recalled of.

The little convoy she was commanding got news about the attack at Jack's fort and arrived just in time to get sight of the small biotic's frame flying and running ahead. Miranda jumped out the truck and set orders for the removal of the refugees and the Biotic Support squad. She blinked, "Kids?". Those should be Jack's students from Grisson Academy. They were slightly hurt and distressed. The feeling the ex-con showed for those kids was what mostly managed to change a little the opinions Lawson had about that woman. That Jack was capable of leaving them alone to rush to death that way…maybe Miranda was wrong in thinking Jack was acquiring some sense of duty over her urges.

Then her biotics resonated near the great pile of wreckage. There was an active Mass Effect shield down the fallen building.

"Someone is alive down there! Corporal, bring help!"

Had Miranda thought logically about it, she wouldn't do it. Even her enhanced biotics couldn't lift tons of concrete and debris. Because she hadn't thought it, she did it anyway.

She brought together her hands, her upper body burning azure with biotics. She let the Mass Effect field infiltrate through the stones. Taking out just enough of the Gravity's pull over them to allow a quick impulse as she moved quickly her arms with a grunt, letting inertia and the restored weight of the stones setting them in motion, rolling and rumbling down, revealing the shimmering blue light of a barrier.

Miranda still managed to move another couple of boulders before the barrier fell, and two exhausted teenagers dropped their heads unconscious but alive over the dusty floor.

The Corporal nodded to the Operative as he reached the kids for pulse and breathing, Miranda's own breathing was still laborious as she moved on again.

Had she thought coldly about running alone and blindly into a Reaper platoon backed by a Destroyer to help a crazy murderous live weapon who had sworn to rip her guts out more than a few times, Miranda Lawson wouldn't do it. Because she hadn't, she did it anyway.

"Shepard, what the fuck did you do to me?"-She mused while disappearing among the ruins of London.

/

The former Alliance Corporal Toombs saw the raven headed woman leave the Camp with her Locust ready. His own weapon, however, rested against his hip yet, the Cerberus's witch managed to live another day.

Just like for her, Toombs had a bullet reserved for Shepard yet. He heard all about that. The Collectors were stopped on hitting human colonies, the brave Commander Shepard getting clean from all association with Cerberus since he had just saved the day again. He wouldn't believe on what others said. He had fresh the memory, as in front of his eyes, the death of each of his comrades by the acid of thresher maws, back on Akuse or under the gentle care of fellow humans, those Cerberus bastards… He would believe his eyes only, so he reserved judgment about Miss Miranda Lawson.

He knew who she was the moment his eyes caught sight of her. She was discreet but wasn't hiding. Big White Chiefs at Alliance were letting her around as she pleased. They did not know what she was capable of…

Toombs could have finished her many times, as she walked ahead between ruins, under the shadows she belonged to, deeper into Reaper territory. But then…She did things she wasn't supposed to, in Toombs' personal opinion. Like saving his life, once. A Life for a Life, that was he was trying to live by all those years hunting Cerberus, so he reasoned Miss Lawson had just bought another day of her cursed life. Then the other day she saved another jarhead kid, just like he was before Akuse. Then another, and other.

He hadn't relinquished on his "just-shoot-the-bastard" politics about Cerberus. He wouldn't trust easily again. Shepard made him let Wayne loose. The monster was granted immunity by the Brass. Untouchable for helping, selling Cerberus out. Heh! Probably the Black Ops had their people already inside or bribed influence into the High Command itself. No… but Justice was Justice, and if it was reserved in a short time to be delivered to him, James Toombs, former Alliance Corporal, he had to honor it. So while he helped those kids out of that hell hole, he had to admit that Miss Miranda Lawson got herself the right to live for another day.

Well… She deserved it.


	7. Chapter 7

**Mass Effect : Shepard 's Letters**

**Chapter Seven – …And Still The Game Continues.**

**Part two**

**/**

**/**

The loud crack from the near boulder alarms Vega and Javik. The Prothean is quicker to raise his Particle Rifle vaporizing an exposed Cannibal's head, and for an inch not getting Vega's also.

"What the fuck?!"- As the bulky Marine ducks from friendly fire. "Watch out, Chupacabra! I'd like keeping my two ears… and my head for what matters."- He concludes seeing the minion to fall headless in green flames.

"I'm not to blame for saving your life, Primitive…Those bandages are taking my sense of perspective." The old warrior points annoyed to the dressings over half of his face as he gets also cover from the spot the first noise had come.

"You still got two eyes and…four pupils?! How the heck you lost perspective?"

"Evolution is the Galactic Imperative, if it says Protheans should have four eyes to rule over Primitive races so it had a reason! And...the bandages are covering all my left ones!"- He concludes in a frustrated tone.

"I'll remember to cover both sides next time…Hey…What?"- Carefully, Vega discovers the bodies of more two Cannibals after the rubble. He glances the burnt holes on both and the matching other hole at the wall at his back. "Who the Hell?…"- He shakes his head. "No time…It's clear, let's run or we'll lose her!"

Both take the path further away, climbing the half-down walls they've seen Jack just fly over.

"How are you holding up anyway? The medi-gel wasn't working right on you."

"You don't worry about me, Primitive. I do have my own genetic repairing abilities. This Cycle's Panacea is…quite impressive although, just doesn't seem to fit with my physiology."

"Oh! It must be that thing about you having four times more DNA than us, right? It sucks, eh?"- And jumps down to the next street bellow.

The Prothean was baffled.

"It's two times! You must know at least you are from a double helix… Vega! Incoming!"

Too late! A vehicle is thrown aside by the charge of a Brute. It hindered the Monster's movement but Vega was still tossed aside like a doll. The Marine curled into a ball rolling painfully ahead. From his upper position Javik's rifle laid green fire at the beast, distracting it so Vega could craw to cover and recover breath. The Prothean had to quickly duck for cover himself as some Marauders followed the Brute, and put them both stuck under suppressive fire.

Not under Javik's hindrance the big minion remembered the Marine he was just about to smash, turned its hideous head looking for him, just to receive a bullet right in the mug! Vega's Mattock should have opened a hole at abomination's head, but was baffled by some shield it shouldn't have.

"The Marauders are shielding it! Cover me, Javik!" And Vega sprints avoiding the Brute's advance, but Javik is too far to try something against the covered Marauders. The Prothean clenches his jaw and tries the Brute instead. His hate and wrath as a biotic attack, a mass effect field punishes the beast at molecular level, slowing it to receive an extra grenade's explosion at his back.

The Marauders were targeting Vega as he ran against them using anything in the way as cover. The moaning sound of Husks warned him of more trouble coming to brighten even more his day. The Mattock was slow for an assault rifle, but had the kick of a mule to compensate for it and on incendiary mode was perfect for those shitheads,… if he could at least get cover to shoot them! The Brute was starting to run again and it could make pulp out of Vega with the next strike. His Shields were out of juice and Vega had to do the only thing advisable while running head straight against close quarters enemies with a rifle as slow as shotgun.

Not missing a shot.

Making each round count, each Husk head popping out in flames at his advance. Vega breaks into an old pawn shop evading the Brute. The Monster just put down the wall holding the shop's doorframe as it rammed into the building. Same time Vega bulky frame just smashed out through the big window at front, using the cumbersome maneuvering time of the Brute to gift it with a sticky grenade explosion that just put the small building down upon it.

And put Vega just under sight of the Marauder's rifles…

Then a Marauder was hailed from behind with neatly put disruptor shots by a submachine gun.

Miranda loved the gun Shepard gave her times ago. It was classy. Kasumi got the original, but that ivory-handled beauty she held was still deadly precise, just like her anyway. Even from distance she put down easily the minion's shields. On a fluid move she extended her arm, grabbing the Marauder on a blue envelope of biotics, hammering it with prejudice…against its colleague! The third got distracted enough to get a point-blank shot from Vega, and it was over shortly.

"Hey! Miranda Lawson? I'm sure happy you could come to the party…WOOOAH!"

The destroyed building's ruins behind burst debris as the missing Brute leaped out at Vega's back, knocking him ahead missing his rifle. Javik and Miranda tried to shoot the thing without getting the Marine, but it raised fiercely a disproportionately big club of an arm and as the Monster's shadow loomed over him James Vega just thought how his ass was sure grass…

Then the neck of the Brute burst black blood and goo and the beast fell limp aside.

Vega's eyes were wide. He was still at the ground and glanced at all sides… He seemingly had a guardian angel…bearing a cannon!

"What just happened?"- The Marine reaches the offered Prothean's arm to get to his feet. He could see now someone running to meet them from two blocks back.

Javik sounded annoyed as he used his senses to answer. "It's the female Spectre, she thinks that if you look just another time at the other female's behind after she saved your life twice she may start shooting your head instead."- That last part was a bit more amused.

"Oh!... Ohhh…Ok, then…" Vega was disconcerted yet, but got suddenly got more focused as the repercussions of what Javik had just said got clear at his mind. "Chupacabra… We should hang out more, you know?"

"Ahem!"- Miranda tried to call back their attention and not to sound too flustered about the way her "behind" had come around as a topic.

"Oh! Miss Lawson, thanks again for the rescue, and it was just in time!"

"Don't mention it, Lieutenant. Are you after Jack too? Lost sight of her."

"I track the Biotic's rage that way. We must hurry if really intend to get to her before she reaches the Reaper, even if I don't see much of reason for doing it."

"Yes, Lawson, why are you after Jack? I heard you hated each other guts anyway."- Ash was already kicking herself inside her head. She just got to them and first thing was to start Horizon all over again against the Operative? But she was just too shaken to hold herself now…

Miranda seemed more intrigued at the question than offended herself. "Well, I guess we've survived together a suicidal mission once…"

"Forget it, Lawson. I know the reason." Vega looks at Ash as to make her drop the attitude and raises his Normandy badge into view. "It's here, we're Normandy's crew. We look after each other's back. That's what Shepard would do."

The memory of the rumors about Shepard's fate at her comms just minutes ago strikes heavily Ash to the reality at hand.

"You right, James. Let's hit the road."

That's what they did, dashing through the block using the narrow alleys till get the other side, and then it was like entering a shitstorm.

Javik, as a strategist, had to hand it to Jack. Her tactics on a suicidal strike against a Reaper Destroyer as it was called at this Cycle were solid. It seemed that if you just ran through the Reaper Forces fast and scolded them bad enough, the minions would get so shocked that the first attacker would make clean ahead while the supporting forces could put the now alarmed reaper forces under suppressive fire, buying more time to the real strike. Of course Jack would be carrying a nuke for it to work, in Javik's opinion, and preferentially he wouldn't be at the suicidal supporting group himself…

They were pinned under fire as soon as they got back to the streets. Dozens of Cannibals, Marauders and Husks turned them full attention from the direction the Biotic had just went. Brutes or Banshees, if charging against them would make short time of their defenses. The proper next movement should be to fall back immediately, but as Javik saw the Reaper further ahead he knew he would not.

As soon as that red eye pointed at them its deadly ray they would be done, but Javik was alright with that already. He could feel the weight of the Memory Shard he carried, and the burden within it. He released a long-held battle cry and went ahead, the Primitives struggling behind to cover him.

He had assisted dutifully Commander Shepard to make through to the Conduit. The Avatar of Victory was probably dead but had accomplished his duty to this Cycle, and by helping him, Javik had done the same for his own. However, he wasn't done yet… He relished greatly on the confusion among the minions, on the delightful pain coming from the Destroyer itself… The Avatar of Vengeance abandoned himself to the lust of the fight. His reunion to his people, his lost friends would be soon at hand… just as he brought along as much Reaper blood as he could muster with him…

"DAMN IT, JAVIK! Shit! Cover him! Fire!"- Vega got surprised by Javik sudden outburst from cover and going berserk against the Minions but went with him anyway. He had friends alongside him as before; all of them would probably die there on the next minutes. But this time would not be like his squad back at Fehl Prime… If that was their last stand he would make sure falling right beside them…

The ground started vibrating differently… Vega cursed thinking on reinforcements to the Reaper's forces, but was surprised by Ashley laughing loud.

"Look sharp, people! Help is coming with a good old friend of mine."- The Spectre shouted over the sound of her rifle.

Miranda attended to her Comms and her perfect eyebrows went high with surprise.

/

_**"BoboomBoBoBoBoomBo…BoboomBoBoBoBoomBo…BoBoomBomBo!"**_

/

"Right, Williams, I'll bite, why there's a Krogan singing "The Ride of the Valkyries" at our Comms?!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Mass Effect : Shepard 's Letters**

**Chapter Eight – …And Still The Game Continues.**

**Part three**

/

/

"Javik! Wait, damn it you crazy Prothean!"

A biotic charged grenade explodes exposing covered minions, the following warp reacts in spectacular way, bursting the bodies violently around. Green energy puts down a shield point-blank, and a Marauder is finished swiftly by a curved blade. Same dagger is spun in a fluid move meeting the next attacking Husk's eye. The minion gets kicked, freeing the blade whose holding hand is then extended, burning green fire as the remaining Husks are viciously slammed against the ground.

"You can't keep it up like this!" Mattock's rounds open holes at the fallen Minions, as Vega manages to jump over a rail to approach his ally.

"Don't hinder me, Primitive! The Reapers took everything from me!" The alien rifle keeps in a staccato of short bursts. "There's nothing left for me at this detestable Cycle besides my rightful Vengeance! The Reapers and their servants will know the wrath of the fallen Prothean race! My friends! I'll meet them soon enough!"

"Hinder you? You tightass jerk!" Vega manages to get close to cover the Prothean's back, he makes a Fortification shield boost to hold a Ravager blast before putting it on fire. "Your friends are right here, covering your back! And… I just don't think it's fair you killing all the bastards by yourself." The Marine grins and keep firing back to back with Javik.

This gives Javik pause. The words were meaningless and offensive from this simple-minded Primitive, but his Psychometric senses had read them as literal. Those fools felt as his equals and willing to die along with him. He had felt the same impressions before… from his long dead crewmates…

His mouth moves without thinking: "Well, Primitive, I don't think you could keep up with a Leader of the Great Prothean Empire, anyway." He is still shooting, but grinning now.

"This so? Let's put credits on it, Chupacabra… Look! Help arrived! But… What are those things?"

Javik's good eyes widen as he gasps. "By the Empire, it's Past itself returning, Primitive…"

* * *

/

Your foe may be a creepy Husk, a monstrous Cannibal or a dreadful Marauder, but if you are a full armored Krogan on a rampaging Kakliosaur, it gets a more fitting definition: Fresh wet blot on the ground.

And it was a full Cavalry Company coming. Under Urdnot Clan's flags and battle cries, the giant reptiles stormed over abandoned skycars, rubble AND Reaper forces on a thunderous stampede flooding the nearby Plaza. Shotguns the size of anti-aircraft artillery just blasted half the Husk's torsos off. Mean-looking spears made of scrap pinned Ravagers to ground before they could turn with their attached cannons, their following explosions of toxic gas and acid meaning nothing to those beasts or their riders.

The ugliest Valkyries ever, but the most beautiful sight to the Normandy's crew.

"Banshee at 9 o'clock! Put the bitch down!" Ashley screams, she tries to slow the monster with a concussive shot but it was useless as it was at Charge. Miranda's Locust came to aid the Spectre's Avenger but it was too fast, the deformed Asari was already over them and going Nova, blasting their shields and scattering them apart.

Ash shook her head, clearing her sight to a blue Death face grinning at her under flaming biotics. Defenseless under those eyes, her lips part for a last commending of her Soul.

"NO, YOU DON'T."

And the monster vanishes under a big shape with a sickening crunch. The Reaper forces nearby get similar treatment soon enough and Ash finds herself in front of huge red familiar face.

"Wrex?!"

"Need a hand, Williams?"

"Always from a friend! I've never being happier for not shooting you down back at Virmire!"

"The same, since if you had tried you wouldn't be alive for me to save your human ass today!" Urdnot Wrex chuckles while dismounting, his big hand pats affectionately the ugly smelly beast he was riding while the Spectre recovers herself. "Beauty, isn't? Shepard helped the Salarians to bring back these fellas from extinction. Old Tuchanka's relics just like me… Salarians can do good things when their skinny butts are on the line… Who would say?..."

The Battlemaster turns to the Reaper at sight. "Let's move from that thing's aim. We came from that Camp after they've told us your status but staying here is stupid."

"Jack is still over there!"- Miranda points ahead at the war zone.

"What about Jack?" Another harsh Krogan voice comes from the comms.

"Grunt?"

"Talking about stupid… We're here, boy! Prepare troops to scatter, that Reaper is already turning to the party we've made."

"Grunt! It's Miranda! Jack went berserk and is charging ahead, can you get to her?"

The ground shakes as another ton-weighted lizard gallops to them. The Operative had a glimpse of large sky-blue reptilian eyes as she is picked up like a small girl over a big rough-looking saddle.

"Can we?" Grunt's deep voice booms at her back as Miranda Lawson barely hung for dear life…

Grunt's comms sounded like a very pissed Krogan Battlemaster: "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, RUNT?!"

"The bastard's shields are down, Old Man! We can do it, you know it! Let's do your old Hunting Maw move! Call the Tomkahs!"

"You… Damn't! Nibelungs! Bring the trucks to both flanks, from behind."

"Beethoven Raiders! To me! Smash the fuckers but fall right, keep out of range!"

As listening to Grunt the slow turning Reaper blasts a red ray putting down the block just at their left, missing almost all the fast-moving mounted Krogans but making losses at its own ground forces.

Grunt's sinister laugh rumbles at Miranda's back and she can't take it anymore.

"Grunt, what are we doing? You are risking too much of your troops to rescue Jack!"

"Rescue?! You said that crazy pyjak is about to tackle the Destroyer alone, didn't you?"

"Yes, and we are stopping her… We are not, are we?" ("Damn, it's Grunt, of course not!"- Miranda sighed with a sinking sensation).

"No stopping her. If she wants the Reaper that bad, the Krogan will be happy to clean the path for her! RRROOOOARRRR!"

* * *

/

Vega and Javik had caught up with the others and got up Kakliosaurs's backs with the Krogans as they set back to fight. Ashley was behind Wrex, assisting fire with her Avenger, but she had to ask after he paused barking orders and was mumbling "Damn kid! Runny nose pup! No respect!", and so on.

"Nibelungs? What's your thing with Human old Classic stuff, Wrex?"

"Hum? Oh, the song? It's catchy…"


	9. Chapter 9

**Mass Effect : Shepard 's Letters**

**Chapter Nine – Two Towers and the Mad Knights**

**/**

**/**

"Goddamn Bosh'tets! Goddamn Bosh'tets! Damnit, answer Zaeed!"

"Goddamn Bosh'tets?!" Ashley shouts over the sound of her rifle.

"Old man Massani has not ear for music."

"No, not that! I've meant…" But it was impossible to speak over a Claymore on a Carnage shot.

"The Human Zaeed is with the Krogan?" Javik could hear them over any interference from the battle. At the Citadel, the Prothean had grown found of the veteran Merc, in his own way; akin Souls, maybe.

"Zaeed "Sole Survivor" Massani? Who besides Krogans would be entertained on sticking around such a reputable celebrity?" Wrex chuckled on his own joke but someone barked at his comms.

"I'll just tell'ya where I'll stick around you! You goddamn overgrown toad!"

"Cut the pleasantries! We'll do the Hunting Maw move I've told the other night. Get your ass…"

* * *

/

/

Zaeed Massani's good eye got as wide as the artificial one giving a short symmetry to his battered face.

"Bloody frigging lunatics! Wrex should have put that runt to sleep early instead of telling tall tales and fuddling themselves with ryncol till morning!"

"Com'on Jessie, let's do it once more yet, eh?" He rises his old M-8 Avenger tenderly, goes to the Tomkah's front and orders the driver. His good eye follows the Skyscraper-high form of the Reaper, turning away from them and blasting viciously at something out of his sight, then just at its back, to the equally towering shapes of the remaining New Canary Wharf Complex.

"And you'll go down too, bitch…" He mutters biting a cigar.

* * *

/

/

There was once a little girl called Jennifer, surname long-lost, who was abducted from her family at Eden Prime by Cerberus. She was abused and hurt in every way imaginable for no reason comprehensible for a child. The love of her parents stolen from her, the little girl is still hiding under a bare desk, scared, pathetic and defenseless, crying through the dark of Night.

And there was Jack, the all-powerful bitch, the pirate, the crazy murderer, whose definition of vandalism involved Space Stations striking Moons. All the biotic nightmare Cerberus wanted to create and more. The one who survived Teltin…that would survive anything, any treachery, any trap. The next fucker dead, one less to use her, to hurt her, just the better for her odds of survival! But then it wasn't enough anymore…

There was also Jacqueline Nought, a young woman, who was whatever that little girl managed to heal from a forever-long Hell that was her past. She had a heart, not openly shown but it was there. Not having seen much beauty over the years, she had found some she could muster from within. She was capable of Art, to transform her sufferings into something else, to be seen, to be read, to be heard. She was loved again. Once by someone who found her worth of an ultimate sacrifice. She hid again in rage born of loss, fear, self-pity and self-loathing, and then another man reached for her. He didn't hate her, didn't want her as a toy, yet he needed her as a weapon, but never treated her as less than a person. The only honest man she ever met, and the dumbest, most stubborn goody two-shoes crazy son-of-a-bitch ever! And he was her friend. After him, others came close, and for her surprise, behind her denials, she found...trust? Suddenly she discovered herself respected besides feared, dependable even! Children were put under her care! Biotics kids like she was, and that because of her they would not suffer or be treated like she was. Prangley, Danton, or Rodriguez… Ensign Rodriguez should have a life like Jack hadn't, safe, with love, happiness and… She should… She should…

Rodriguez was killed; her students who depended on her were killed. Shepard was dead. The others were lost. There was nothing else…

There was only Subject Zero…

* * *

/

/

"I'LL DESTROY YOU"

A Mass Effect field embeds the Wraith's rounds. Shots already powerful enough to but down an armored Cannibal at first strike were putting down barriers and cutting Banshees at half. Minions would be struck to the air into pieces under a never-ending roar of hate and fury.

The Biotic Human's experience is nothing less than excruciating, if used nonstop the pain worsens each time, the abusive demand to the nervous system leading to hemorrhage, coma and brain damage. Jack was different, in some ways.

Putting down the Reaper forces savagely, Jack was torn between rage and glee. Her body and mind were built to relish with the violence, to lust upon the massacre. A biotic killing machine, made by Cerberus in their Human Supremacy Race in order to rival in power the Asari Matriarchs themselves...

And the Reapers took where they left their work, going further ahead. Forged in despair and hate… a Human Banshee came to existence.

Shepard tried to explain to Jack how he became able to Charge, but he didn't know well himself. His mind in the middle of a fight just pulled him ahead. Jack could do it now. Her rage raptured her frame, blasting her foes, her hate giving direction.

When the Reaper directed its red eyes over her, she just disappeared, zigzagging on the battlefield as the air above her head suddenly burned like a Red Giant. Jack was oblivious to it as fires of Hell were already burning inside her and blood was all she could see…

She hovered over the battlefield, ran, shot and biotically punched Minions apart like rags. Some corner of her mind registered she had help. Krogans mounted on... dinosaurs were racing, circling counterclockwise the Reaper, keeping ahead from its range of fire, and putting down a good fight… and cheering for her?

Then her advance had stopped short for blasting against something huge. Something huge watching her with multiple synthetic substitutes for eyes… The Brute punched hard, but her barriers held. She hadn't opposed the attack; her feet were off the ground as she was thrown up. She charged from midair at close quarters stomping it against the ground. The last thing the Minion saw was the barrel of a Shotgun before his head burst under a load of biotically charged tungsten.

Having paused almost made her faint as her body and mind's exhaustion came dangerously close to her senses. She slowed down as another Brute was already charging! No time to evade but…

"I. AM. KROGAN!"

Grunt jumped from his ride, tackling the beast and putting it to hold. The monster fights desperately to free itself, but Grunt holds fiercely its head under his arm, his titanic muscles rippling with the struggle until "SNAP".

The headless corpse falls inert. The Savage raises his horrid trophy and roars triumphantly!

"RRRROOOOOAAAAARRRR"

Then he kicks the corpse in contempt and turns his big head as Miranda rushes to his position.

"Corpses of Krogan warriors deserve better than being grafted to Turian's heads. But if you do something this stupid should at least not use necks thinner than a Salarian's."

"Grunt! Where's Jack?"

"Shit! I've forgotten!" He turns but the Biotic was nowhere near again.

"The Reaper will get to us and we're on foot! We must leave!"

"Why?" The perfect Krogan shows his most saurian smile as he sees his troops in place.

"The fun had just started…"


	10. Chapter 10

**Mass Effect : Shepard's Letters**

**Chapter Ten– Two Towers and the Mad Knights: Tall Tales and Thresher Maw à la Mode.**

**Ismar Frontier Cluster, Faia System, Planet Zorya: One and a Half Years Ago.**

**/**

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"RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAARRRR!"

Zaeed's roar of rage and frustration almost baffles the one his Vindicator is releasing non stop till he has to forcefully pop out its spent thermal clip. His fury not doused the least, he spins pointing his gun against the chest of that goddamn wuss soldier-boy: "You just cost me twenty years of my life!" But to Zaeed's surprise, Shepard has his Sniper Rifle ready and shots!

"What the fuck are you…" It's impossible, the flyer was already five or six miles ahead, but Zaeed turns his head in time to see Vido's escape ship's rear bursting in flames and starting a downward curve against the jungle… Then he is knocked down violently, his spent clip had put fire to the fuel spilled over the landing pad detonating a barrel, the explosion putting Zaeed's legs stuck under a heavy metal girder.

"Gaahh! Son of a bitch! Argh!" He is pinned, the pain is enough to blur his sight, he breathes hard to not faint, the fire was still spreading and soon enough a full blown Inferno could blaze the pad.

Shepard cares shit about it, he rests his weight over his Widow, makes the gesture taping behind his ear to start a comm, just gazing the direction the flyer had crashed after the small hills.

"EDI? Do you copy?"

"Yes, Commander?"

"I've put down an A-61 about ten clicks west my position. Have scans?"

"Affirmative. There's fire spreading near you. Do you need extraction?"

"Not yet. Don't lose the occupants from sight, tamper their comms, and any Blue Suns' transport bound to their position, send word to Joker and Garrus, I want it down, Roger?"

"Wilco, Commander."

Zaeed followed the exchange baffled, staring that blasted rifle. That thing was supposedly an old Geth Rifle they had found at the Collector's Ship. It was Anti-Materiel gunnery Shepard, Vakarian and the Cerberus kid had tinkered over for days. How he could even handle that cannon?! They dubbed it "Widow", "one shot, one widow". Then he saw written under the gun "NCC 1701A"

"From that old vid? They are barking mad!" – The Merc thinks, struggling to free himself, and then he sees Shepard watching him thoughtfully.

"There's always other way, Zaeed, I've told you…"

"Yeah? Screw you! Now come on. Get me off this shithole."

"I'm not sure I need a man like you at my ship."

"If you didn't need me, Cerberus wouldn't have paid my fee. I'll do what I was paid to do. Nothing more, nothing less. Now stop screwing around! Let's go!"

"You've put your vengeance over the mission, the team and the lives of civilians."

"I've survived this long watching my back. No time to worry about anyone else."

"It was like that back at Shanxi?"

"WHAT?!"

"My mother is a Veteran Fleet Officer and I worked with Anderson, of course I've heard the stories. You were a big damn hero back then, and as a Merc you have a reputation of never screwing a job like this."

"Don't think you know me you fucking brat! You don't know what is to lose everything…"

Click

The barrel of the gun was between his eyes before the Merc even blinked.

"Don't I?"

Zaeed Massani swallowed dry, not for the gun, but the eyes. They shone blood-red, as did the scars at Shepard's face, like there was real fire burning under his skin.

He heard rumors but never had seen it. Those implants from when Cerberus' mad butchers went Frankenstein on his bloody corpse! It did really happen, didn't it? But they didn't have that eerie look all the time, when they have it meant…well, murder…

Despite it, Shepard voice was slow and level.

"You've spent twenty years wanting payback on Vido, my bet is he hadn't worried about you the smallest bit of that time. Your hate is messing with your head and believe me, Zaeed, if you allow your enemy to change you this deep, make you do what you wouldn't, you're still giving him victory after all those years."

"I don't know the deal you set with the Illusive Man, and don't care. You were a Marine and you know the drill. Our mission is bigger than me or you, and I must be able to trust you to watch my back as I watch yours not for our survival, but to see the job done. If I don't know you, if you're not that soldier I've always heard you to be, you're useless to me…I don't need you…"

Zaeed closed his eyes waiting for the shot, like that from his best friend's gun at his face two decades ago… When he became expendable also… but it didn't come.

"Hey, take it!"

"What?"

"Oops! My bad, here!" And the heavy pistol spins on his fingers and the hold is offered to Zaeed.

Mouth gapped, the veteran mercenary takes it, and with his free hand Shepard lifts the metal beam and with a grunt throws it aside. He offers a hand and raises Zaeed to his feet like a he was boy.

"Good, you can stand." He nodded to the jungle ahead. "The way that Mantis wobbled, I guess you got the pilot. I've put down its engine so unless one of those two is a mechanic they are grounded until you reach them." He patted Zaeed at the shoulder and started back to the Refinery. "You do what you must, Vido is a menace if left free anyway. I guess you can pick a ride out of this planet with those workers you tried to burn alive when their Company comes for them. You have one day, and if you do want to return aboard the Normandy, call EDI and I'll send the pickup. But be sure about it, Massani…" He looks back, his eyes are blue again, but hard and cold. "If you endanger a mission again, if you become a risk to the crew…I'll just put you down myself…"

He turns and disappears into the plant. "But bring back the gun, will'ya? I really like that gun…"

* * *

**Battle of Earth, two nights before.**

**/**

**/**

"And he just left?! That's Shepard for you!" Wrex loudly laughs and slaps his knee. "You just had to come back then and he knew it!"

"Wait! Wait! What about Vido?! What happened?" across the heater serving as campfire Grunt was still eager for more.

"You know what happened, you bleeding moron! I've told you a hundred times already!" Being true, Zaeed was amused, the young bloodthirsty Krogan was the best audience he ever had.

"But not for me. Did you nail the fucker?"

"Right, even limping like I was, still found the sod at the Mantis wreck, whimpering, trying to call help from his jammed comms. He got nothing, EDI is a girl who knows her job."

"Shepard was right and the pilot was dead, the ship was down wings broken, and the whole place stank form leaked fuel. Vido should know I would come for him, but he was there, without armed mooks he had lost all his wit and smugness. When he saw me I didn't know he would ask for mercy or for antihistamines."

"Mercy, that was… He claimed stabbing me back was business, nothing personal, the fucker even had the guts to say that blasting my face off was a favor!"

"Let's not raise this point…" -The old Krogan said with a sly smile. "Did you kill him then?"- Wrex was really not better than Grunt…

"Almost not, you believe it? That sad son of a bitch was once my best pal, betrayed me and made my life hell for twenty years… But Shepard had a point. When I shot the wreck putting it to fire and frying the fucker to death, I didn't do it for the betrayal or for what his shot had made for my looks…"

"For what then?"

"He looked so small and coward… I've put him down for all the time I've wasted waiting for this payback, for what I had become while hunting him down and he wasn't even worth it. That he was so despicable that vengeance was almost meaningless."

"But you did it, anyway."

"I've said "almost" meaningless."

"Fair enough…" There's not small vengeance among Krogans. They could take place after centuries, but were supposed to age as good wine, as humans say. That this foe appeared as unworthy… It was probably a worse offense then the original one…

Grunt picked another small barrel he used as tankard, and poured rincol down his throat. "So that's how you became loyal to Battlemaster and his mission, right? BUUURP!"

Zaeed made a pause to answer, he was grimacing at the rincol. That Krogan poison smelled just like querosene, but wasn't great improvement over the asari's piss they dubbed for beer and he had to put up with.

"Ahn? Loyal to his goddamn mission? Not really… I brought the smug fucker his pistol as he said, but was still pissed about being put to my place by a brat… That quarian lady of his, she did the trick!"

"Little Tali? What could she have done for you?"

Zaeed pulls up his old Avenger, tenderly caressing the rifle. The two Krogans exchange their version of a "Here it comes…" look.

"That purple girl is a Dame, I tell'yah, finest breed… I don't think Shepard can tell a tale as fine as myself, but he put some good word about me to the lass. By the time I was back at the Normandy, she used some quarian magic of hers and my old Jessie was fine as new. Even better! Swear to God, she can now hold up a thermal to put a Revenant to shame! After all they did for us I came to think them both were alright by my book. Best I've ever said about any Commanding Officer I've served under."

"Hah, 'say the same!" Wrex himself looks like a red dreadnought using his ancient armor. Piece of heirloom lost since the Krogan Rebellions, now back for the most glorious War ever. Shepard's courtesy…

"Hey! The rincol grows warm and the night is young! Another tale! Better! Clan Leader, tell us that thing about putting down the Reapers like Maws! You said you could!"

"I haven't said shit about it, kid. It's just rincol speaking while they're under those shields. If they were down, so…it would be a nice fight!"

"Woah! You two toads may want spend the whole night like this. Me and Jessie gonna get some shut-eye before dawn, see'yah later."- And the Merc settled himself for the night over a mat behind the cover of some crates.

"Zaeed!" Wrex's voice trembles the crates."How will you name the platoon you'll chief tomorrow?"

"Humpf… Lead a bunch of dumb bloodthirsty Krogan to a stroll over old Reaper-infested London… How stupid can it be?" He gazes at his reborn old rifle and smiles."Bosh'tets! That's the name!"

"What?"

"GODAMN'IT! Bosh'tets!"

Wrex blinks twice. "Godamn Bosh'tets? Oookay…"

He turns to the younger Krogan and take a sip from his own small barrel of booze. "Well, back in the time, before the Genofage made short of us, there was too many mouths to feed at Tuchanka. Our colonies were isolated from us by the Turian fleet, and the planet itself was already as wasted and dry as you came to know. We needed a source of protein and the most available were the Thresher Maws. In fact, they surely saw us that way as well."

"You said you used the Tomkahs?"

"Yes, to get a big one, you should go fast. Shepard was a natural, when we met with a Maw at some desert planet, he would round it while shooting, using speed and even jet jumps to dodge the acid and keep ahead of its aim… Shepard's driving was quite an experience…"

"You tell me, Leader? I got also a ride with Shepard at that blasted Hammerhead. It was a worthy test to my nerve."

"The Hover? Kid, he used to drive a M35 Mako!"

"He jet jumped Maw's acid on a Mako?! Ooooh."

Wrex's eyes widens as the memories flow back. "I've always heard fear was not unknown even to the greatest warriors…but I thought I was an exception until enter that Mako…But it was fun too."

"But the thing about those Destroyers is that they are as dumbly built as the Maws. The Reapers may claim being "apex of Galatic Evolution", but look." He pulls his gun and points at some directions, extending his arm and bending his torso, then he shortens his aim, putting the gun next to his face. "See? This is the Maw and the Destroyers. Its acid or their rays are sure deadly but how useful are them if you planted them stuck to your face? The damn thing has to turn fully its big cumbersome body to point at you, and that's a weakness…"

* * *

**[Present Time**: _The Reaper Destroyer turns on its axis, but the giant insect-like legs can't do it faster as the mounted Krogans kept racing counterclockwise it. The red energy blasts destroy the buildings and the Reaper's own troops but leaves the Krogan's mostly unscathed. The Reaper gets so focused on its quickly evading pray that fails to get hint on the Tomkahs at its five until it's late. Cannons shot from the Krogan's Vehicles striking the right legs with several automated magnetic hooks. They release Maw's acid as they burrow deeply into the unshielded armored limbs_.**]**

* * *

"We would strike at its flanks with hooks embedded with its own acid. It's the best thing. We still have them at the Tomkahs to help the tanks cross the ruined landscape of Tuchanka. Of course the Reaper would have legs that the Maw doesn't, so we would have to find a way to take its hold of the ground off…"

* * *

**[Present Time**: _The Destroyer stops and tries to turn right, Wrex shouts the order and other Tanks attack the same way the left back limb. Both fronts of Tomkahs use the same hooks to take deep grip on the ground. Then both the Tanks and the Infantry starts heavy fire not at the Destroyer but at the ground under its rear legs. Under the charges, the ground sinks to the old London structures and tunnels underneath taking down its support from the Reaper._**]**

* * *

"The bulk of the Tanks would then strike its back, gripping it backwards. The beast held down, we just have to come over and chop it."

* * *

**[Present Time**: _They had not so many Tomkahs, so had to improvise some other way._

_Zaeed curses hard enough his Krogan pilot should be blushing. Tanks weren't supposed to do this, but those Tomkahs gripped those Canary Wharf's skyscrapers and were climbing it vertically! Their hooks dug through walls and abandoned offices, taking advantage of the ultra resistant structure needed for those new miles-high buildings. They were sat as big godamn bloodsucking ticks! They were shooting new grips at the Reaper's back and soon would move over and rappel down quickly as hell to the next downward Tomkah that would give them the ride down ticket. Had to do it before the ground teams detonated the charges he instructed to be set at the buildings' base on the other side._

_"Human Leader! Human Leader!"_

_"It's Massani, Sir, to you, Krogan! What's the matter?" Zaeed and the pilot were hastily getting off their seats to get to the exit hatch._

_"We were surrounded! Hundreds of husks and other scum are flooding the streets and the lower floors of the buildings. They came for the Destroyer. You up there get out now! We're compromised, can't leave ourselves! Asking permission to set the charges or the whole attack will fail!"_

_Those damn Reaper troops-carrier meteors had stopped dropping for some time now. The Reapers had stopped harvesting for some reason, so that kid was right and the destroyer was calling help from around, and they were just in the way…_

_"FUBAR you mean. What's your name, kid?"_

_A centuries-old Krogan hesitates before answering. "Urdnot Kellek, Sir!"_

_"You are alright, soldier! Set them and leave, shoot everything moving and keep your head down! The explosion will take care of them, just make distance enough, roger? You're a Krogan, damn'it! You have tougher fights to cross your own backyard!"_

_"Roger, and good hunting, Sir."_

_The hatch opens and the pilot ahead gives alarm. "Harvester!"_

_"Fuck all this! We're sitting ducks up here!" He raises his Jessie and thinks whatever could go any wronger…_**]**

* * *

"But, Clan Leader, in my trial it took me and two krantt to put down a Maw. What you say sounds fun, but it's not too much work and expenses?"

"Your "krantt" being Shepard and Vakarian it was really kind of overkill. Anyway you burst the damn beast's head from inside! What was really commendable about you, but not if you were there to eat the thing…"

Zaeed tries not to listen but two Krogans talking and laughing under rincol was enough to the ground itself vibrate.

"You see… Doing this way you spoil all the flavor!"

Massani sighs. He really didn't want to hear that. He pats Jessie at his side and feels better. One last round with his old girl… How could anything go wrong?

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**Timely Annotations**

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Hi, folks! Sorry about the delay from my habitual schedule. Big chapter, and a complex one also.

- Vido's escape at the Paragon ending of Zaeed's loyalty mission left a loose thread. Besides, in cannon, Zaeed does shot the pilot and the flyer really disappears after the hill going down as falling. I don't see why it couldn't be tracked with the Normandy at orbit. So I kinda joined the two possible endings, hope it was cool.

- Lone Survivor: The history of **Zaeed** Massani by thebluninja, is a great history, you should read.

- NCC 1701A is the Enterprise's hull denomination, and it DOES, for some reason, appear at the side of the M98-Widow, as it was also supposedly a Geth's rifle and not human, the conclusion is that somebody at the Normandy is a badass trekkie.

- "Goddamn Bosh'tets" is so funny I had to use it. First heard, on different origins, at "**And the Meek Shall Inherit the Galaxy"**, by full paragon. Awesome read.


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